My Cup of Tea

Today is the last day of 2013, last night to be more specific! Oh, time really flew so fast. Right now, I am alone in the house. My sister went to Makati to spend New Year with some friends and since I am afraid of the explosion of firecrackers in the street I chose to stay here in Caloocan and officially, this is the first time in my life to welcome the New Year alone!! While waiting for the midnight to strike and witness the grand entrance of the year 2014 in my room (laugh!!), hearing all those awful blasting of dangerous elements everywhere and contemplating how to pull enough courage tomorrow to wind off fears of explosion on my way to the church (tomorrow is so significant, not only New Year, but a solemnity of the Virgin Mary, first Wednesday of the year! An important day of obligation for all Roman Catholics), I made another trip down-memory-lane to look back at the most important events of my life in 2013. I just feel this is a good way to end the year with great antici

It's 12 DAYS before Christmas ! Hmmm sounds like a Christmas song with the same title hehe! But unlike in the song, I won't be making a countdown for each day until the 25th with the list of gifts because there's nothing to count, no turtle doves nor a partridge in a pear tree none even a French hen  ^_____^ Honestly, I am not expecting any tangible gifts this Christmas season. No one in my distant memory to ever think that would possibly transform into a generous santa , I am not suspecting anyone either hehe! I am also too grown up to deceive myself that the hanging-of-stocking-phenomenon is all true. The belief once I fancied on Jackson 5's Christmas hit " Santa Claus is Coming to Town " is already a quick-fading memory. Speaking of gifts, there's at least one person in my circle back then who never failed to give me a present during the holiday season , but now there's no more reason for him to be generous with me, I'm no longer part of

"We are like Tea bags, we don't know our real strength  until we are in a hot water"  - Sister Busche My gaze flitted far away, up to the beaming horizon, multifaceted thoughts shrouded my mind once more. The day started just right. Quiet. Peaceful. Relaxing. The soft breeze rustles beneath the leaves. The rays of the dazzling sunshine ascend beyond the clouds. Blinking slowly, I knew it was not just about the bright spark of the morning sun that lured my glance and uplifted my spirit, it was more of the thought of anticipating an exciting career. Since deciding to come to Manila and take all the risks I could possibly imagine in the whole world, I know I am up for something more challenging. I've matured enough and finally reached the barometer of my emotional security. I hardly cried at the slightest mishaps, I never complained at petty failures. I discarded my fear of what's-coming-ahead. I stopped moping why it seems I am forever stuck in one corner

Another great milestone! TIMELINE OF MY GRADUATE SCHOOL LIFE December 2009 After encountering an agonizing episode of humiliation, I began looking at my life  seriously. Why I allowed myself to be hurt and why I hopelessly clung to that rope of hope when everything was just a shadow of my illusion? So I decided to  create another plan for my journey. At that moment, I realized I don't need anyone to "uplift" my spirit, I don't need any anchor to make my life complete and happy, I must do it  alone. That's when I decided to go back to school to get what I wanted in life. March 2010 I decided not to quit my job in the university until I obtain a masteral degree. It's too complicated to start a new job in another company while pursuing graduate studies. June 2010 I spent hours in a day contemplating where to enrol for MBA, so I asked several people for some enlightenment. One of them advised me to think hard about myself and the futur

Last April 3, Wednesday, was my birthday. Well, it's not really a grand thing to me, everytime my birthday arrives I just treat it as a very ordinary day just like the rest of the days in a year. I hate throwing a celebration or treating people to a meal because it's too stressful and costly, I prefer to celebrate it privately.   But one thing I truly treasured during my birthday is the shower of affection from the people in my circle. Birthday greeting is one. I find it very touching and sweet. I am so grateful some of my friends always remember my birthday even without reminding them hehe! It's an indication that they valued and loved me unconditionally. One of my sweetest and closest friends in life who is like a sister to me is Helen Montero . she is so wonderful, a true friend in the real sense of the word. I am always touch with her unique kindness. She is now working in United Arab Emirates  but every year when my birthday comes, she never fail to gi

Whenever I want to unwind and relax and “hide” from annoying people, one option I would always consider is to escape to a café house. There, I would find peace of mind and serenity. The environment is so calm and cool. The quietness and homely atmosphere of a café house made me feel so protected and pampered and I have plenty of time to think about myself, about what happened in a day and about contemplating what to do with my future. If I have my laptop with me, I would go to a café house with a free wifi, my favourite destinations usually are Kangaroo, Café Demitasse or Yellow Hauz, these places are so quiet and away from the bustling city so I can explore what’s on my mind at the moment without intruders. But if I leave my laptop at home, I would just go to Euro Café in Gaisano Mall for a quick meal.   When I am at Euro Cafe, my favorite drink is always IRISH CAPUCCINO. I am not a regular coffee drinker but this one tastes so good I cannot resist the temptation!! I l

I am a TEA drinker but hardly an addict :-)  The difference between an addict and simply a drinker is the amount of the beverage consume in a day. An addict is someone who cannot resist the craving and temptation and who consume several cups in a day but a drinker is someone who only drink when necessary. I only drink tea when necessary, say, when I eat starchy foods and desserts, when the weather is super cold and when I am sick. So I am just a drinker and not a Tea addict. As much as possible, I want to take everything into moderation, not just for Tea but for all beverages and foods I am consuming, it's always bad to go beyond the limit.  Tea has caffeine which brings no good to the body when taking in large amount. I've read once that caffeinated beverages are bad for women who are pregnant, planning to have a baby or into breastfeeding because caffeine blocks the absorption of Folate in the body. Folate is necessary for the proper brain development of the chil

Okay. I am officially bored. But far from sad hehe! And when I am bored I just want to update my blogs, posting entries endlessly, confiding emotions, sharing what's on my mind to get me through the day without being cranky.  Today is another day.  Wow! Days are moving so fast ! And still I am procrastinating hehehe! I should be making advance reading for our subjects in the comprehensive exam ahead of our review next month but here I am putting off my plan to read books hahay! We heard that in Ateneo MBA, taking comprehensive exam is more difficult than writing thesis, professors will really make students' life more miserable by giving a gruelling exam. So I really have to prepare :-)  Last Saturday, I met my MBA classmates at Ateneo, we have to submit one copy of our transcript of records to the SBG (school of business and governance division) office before we could take the exam so we went there to file a request. We also got our grades from our last

Warren Buffet, the third richest man in the world and one of the most brilliant investors in American history, is the one I looked up to when it comes to intelligent investing. Your eyes had probably lit up after reading the title of this entry, it's because the title is quite famous, it's almost called the bible of billionaires! It used to be the title of the book written by Benjamin Franklin, the mentor of one of my favorite billionaires in the world - Warren Buffet. Warren Buffet is the CEO and Chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, the largest investment company in the world. He had been trading in the stock market since his high school days, he learned further investment techniques through Benjamin Franklin. Buffet, the current third richest man in the world  according to Forbes Magazine is considered one of the most brilliant investors in American history.  I've long been following his life and his investment strategies and made my own research how to practice i

With Karen Alcantara, Maam Amanda and Princess Loyola   Okay, so another year has come....another year added... Every time my birthday comes, it felt as though I am slowly losing my grip to whatever rope I am holding, worries and anxieties resurface and the nagging thought of what's-coming-ahead appears again. This year, I tried to change routine and.. .uhmmm ,  views. I kept reassuring myself that everything is really fine and nothing to worry about. Well, it works, the fact that I am about to finish my MBA made my spirit soars high. I am more relax now and contented..Wheew! Right now, the most important thing is, I know already what road to take and where I'm heading. My life's direction is clearer and I am more concerned with saving more for my future and embark into a leisure trip abroad. One of my greatest dreams is to tour around Western Europe and visit Vatican city and Windsor Castle. So how I celebrated my birthday this year? I took a one day

I am having a new year countdown now. The clock sets at 12:00 noon. So before the Year of the Water Dragon makes a grand entrance, I want to spend a little time thinking and looking back what are the best and worst things I witnessed and experienced in 2011. BEST THINGS: 1.   Blessings - I received lots of blessings this year. Some of the things I fervently asked for the past three years were granted by God. I am always in excellent health condition and none of my parents or siblings got ill. The power of prayers really works. So keep praying. I received good income from my online job too! 2. Travel - I was able to go to the Monastery of the Benedictine monks in Bukidnon during our retreat, such a wonderful place to visit. The environment is so cool and quiet, strongly reminded me of my life in the province. Was able to visit the popular tourist spots of my home province: Enchanted River in Hinatuan and Tinuy an Falls in Bislig.  3. Cool Environment - The surroun

I held my privacy very precious but here, I want to share something about my life, about my true self. I love PINK!  It's the color of beauty, romance and innocence.. but it's not exclusive haha ! There are some occasions that I choose other shades like purple, lavender and aqua green.  I am afraid to die in bullets, sword, car accident or being raped. I often pray for a quiet death, it's not morbid because everyone will have to die, so it's inevitable, and no one can escape, death is a nice word because it reminds us that we don't last forever. I dreamed to travel to Europe , I am fascinated with its history and glorious past. I want to write about ancient castles and monarchy and traveling there to do an actual research is a great help. I want to see the romantic countryside of Italy in Tuscany, the spectacular beaches around Greece and Cornwall in England and St. Kilda in Scotland and marveled at the breathtaking scenery of nature at Bavaria

This morning I read one article about ...well...."Nothing lasts forever", such a great sharing from one blogger and felt what she had gone through..she ended the article with something like ".... so don't be too caught up with the past, just look forward to the future".... One day, things will change....everything will just be a hazy shadow of the past..but we must undergo a terrible sojourn of despair first before seeing what life has to offer on the other side of the road...after all...we cannot see a beautiful rainbow without passing a terrible rain.. Someday, everything makes sense....just got to make the best of the situations, sometimes because of our effort to hold on tight, we've got to lose the things we are trying hard to save. But that's life...and we must learn how to conform with the reality.... For so long, I've been keeping myself welded in one corner that I never realized time is slipping so fast. I was so cautious with m