A WORKING MOM'S PEN HAVEN

I’ve always been insecure about my writing because I really don’t feel I’m any good. I often envy writers who seem to just have the knack for pouring over their thoughts on paper. Without much effort or the need for thorough editing, they just seem to have full control of their creative side, an overflow of creative juice. Until now, I’m still not convinced that I’ve ever had the juice. I’ve never really been that good, at least as far as I know. Despite the fact that I was able to make it to the editorial team of my highschool paper, got a medal for English excellence and became a Journ student in UP, I still can’t bring myself to claiming the title of ‘ writer’. Professionally, I am a technical writer, a research analyst to be exact. I write research reports and provide analysis based on data and statistics. But what I usually write is not what you can consider creative writing. I know that I have a firm grasp at grammar. I know most of the rules and follow them. I try to edit...

"Consider it pure joy whenever you face trials of many kinds because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance." - James 1:2-3

My husband and I watched Jennifer Aniston's new movie - MANAGEMENT 2 nights ago at the Shangrila Cineplex. I went inside the movie house with my hopes up because I picked it over Kimmydora, which I really hoped I did watch. But anyway, you can say that we had the misfortune of watching this *$%@$ ing movie over any film. You see folks, there's really nothing, I mean nothing...nada in this movie that's worth anything. I mean I wouldn't even see it if someone paid me to watch it again. It's a real waste of time and energy, really. Realizing it's crap took me about 5 minutes into the movie. So, you were wondering, why the hell did I bother watching it or even think about considering it? well, for one, I am, I mean I was a Jen Aniston fan because I was a big "Friends" fan. And two, I really thought she's picked up from where she left of after "Breaking up" with Vince Vaugh. But she's now it's obvious that she's still struggl...

Are you having a hard time finishing tasks? Are you always late? Do you always have to ask for a deadline extension? Does your load seem more than you can handle? Do you always do overtime work and miss out on a lot of things because of it? Either you need to rethink your job choice or you just need to learn how to organize yourselfed. For most people I’ve worked with during my time in the ad agency industry, overtime and extended deadlines are norms. There are some industries with jobs that would really require you to push yourself to the limit. However, it can be expected that the employee compensation and benefits from these jobs are commensurate to the work load being asked of the person. This is why very few people qualify and become successful on these careers. On the other hand, if you see that your job is just as hard and your pay is not even close to half of what you think you should get, it is best to review your options. However, it may also be an issue of persona...

Like most moms, I’ve had and am still having my fair share of guilt, frustrations and disappointments. But right now, I’m thinking that I’m having more than my fair share. I’ve been having a very difficult time feeding my toddler. She’s almost 2 years old but still needs to learn to eat more solid food. I actually feel quite guilty about it, having had to start her with Gerber at 6 months despite other parents’ advice that most Gerber babies become picky eaters. And I found that out for myself a bit too late. After her first spoonful of Gerber Squash, she wouldn’t take anything else. Later on, I just felt lucky that she also liked Gerber carrots but that was about it. Those two seem like they’re all she’ll ever eat. After her first year, she eventually began tasting rice and cereals but did not like them as much as she loved Gerber. We decided to introduce several options by taking her out to try different restaurants. And alas we found out that she adores pasta and that sh...

My husband and I have just concluded our coffee adventure. For the past 3 years, we’ve visited every coffee nook in the Metro. Our ultimate goal – to name or at least nominate the best hot and cold coffee in Metro Manila. As we hopped on from one coffee joint to another, spending more than we should for a cup of coffee or in our case 2 cups of coffee. We tried to give each nominee equal chances and enough room for a good fight. We went to at each shop at least three times and we went to as many branches as we can. Whether it came from a well-known brand or a convenience store, we’ve surveyed and sipped into each and every coffee cup. After 3 years the last visit turned out to be a good nominee as well. Well, here it is, our rundown of our top coffee choices: Hot: 1.) Blenz Belgian chocolate Cafe latte 2.) 7-11 Caramel Macchiato 3.) Starbucks Mocha cafe latte 4.) Figaro Capuccino 5.) Mocha Blends Choco Cafe Latte Cold: 1.) Java Man Choco Javaccino 2.) Blenz Belgian Choco Fros...

Whenever someone asks me how many children I have, I always have to stop and think before I finally answer. As simple as the question is, it’s probably the most trivial question a person can ever ask me. I'd often say "Oh, just this one” or “just her". But sometimes I’d catch myself saying: "She's my second" or just plain "two". Not only is answering this a very difficult task for me, it’s also always a heartbreaking moment. Truth is, I should have had 2. It's just that I lost my first by stillbirth. My first daughter or at least our first offspring was a honey-moon baby. She was the fruit of our first tryst of passion as a married couple. I was 26 and my husband was 24. We both had stable jobs although we didn’t have much then. Well, we still don’t have much now.  But at least we were prepared and we were in so much anticipation. It seemed like the longest 9 months for us. We could hardly sleep during the last few days before my d...

I've been trying to start a blogsite since 2004. Yep, it's been more than 5 years since I've thought of making an online journal for myself. How time flies and so many things has happened since then. I got married, got pregnant, lost a child, got pregnant again and alas became a mother. We'll that's probably the long and short of it. Now, the story-telling begins...