The Journey. It’s Mine. [My personal take on love, life, parenting and blogging.]

Due to typhoon Pablo. Surprisingly, there is still electricity here, despite the storm signal. Thankfully. Electric power is usually the first to go off around here. Which is really stupid because how can one track what’s going on and where the storm is going if there is no electricity? Hmmm…yeah…battery-powered radio (which too bad we don’t have anymore)!

With this rain our tv (sat) doesn’t even have a reception. And the online papers aren’t so current with their weather updates. Well anyway, who am I to complain? As long as hindi brownout at umiba ng direksyon ang bagyo, we’ll be fine.

All my adult life I have been using Eskinol (I love the cucumber one). Until last year when I discovered moor allure naturals and have been hooked ever since.

I love the naturalness in moor allure. Even the naturals in Eskinol can’t compare. Eskinol still remains a stingy astringent that is too harsh for anybody’s skin.

I’ve had the nicest result with moor allure until I ran out of their soothing herbal toner months back. Now (especially after spending a week in the hospital), my clogged pore problems are worst more than ever. I’m still not convinced I need a derma nor acne treatment, but maybe I should go back to scrubbing my face with good old Eskinol?

After all my new moor allure order hasn’t arrived yet.

Not a street actually. But a whole road, the ‘highway’ in front of our house. This is the street where a bunch of us kids in the neighborhood learned how to bike. We each took turn on a bike one hot middle of the day on a Good Friday. Why Good Friday? Because there was almost no cars passing by.

On moonlit nights this ‘road’ becomes a playground. We played patintero here, adults and kids alike. Those were fun times, even without the TV.

Suffice to say that this road has seen a lot. Moving houses, moving cars, moving companies, etc.

Today Raine and I took a walk, enjoying the warm sunny day early in the morning. My walking partner - Raine - was just a bit grumpier coz he wanted to walk more. He he. I didn’t!

Here in the Philippines it is almost sembreak. College kids in Manila going home to their provinces need money to go home. How long does the sembreak last, a month? While it means vacation time to the students. It hopefully is vacation time from the expenses from the parents’ perspective. But it’s NOT. Since they’re all home, you feed them more, right?

Then before you know it, the next semester is here and that means they need money again for enrollment and fare. Sometimes looking for online car insurance quotes are way easier than raising kids and sending them to school.

Our two college boys come home everyday and the daily grind of expenses is just way too much. I hope I can breathe this sembreak (even the one in prep - Raine- is going on a break). I mean breathe from the expenses! But maybe not.

What career?! Hahaha. I have always believed that my career went up in smokes the moment I became a mother. Not that motherhood is to blame. It’s just that my priorities have changed since then.

Well anyway, I’ve been wanting to come home since I got pregnant. First to hide my ‘demise’ (read: pregnancy out of wedlock) and run away from it all and from everyone.

But I didn’t for practicalities’ sake. I needed the job after all. It was then I realized that my old job has just become that, a job. No more fire and excitement burning to do it. My heart was somewhere else. I didn’t know where and what. I still don’t know at this very moment.

I just know I gotta reinvent myself, find a job nearby so I can come home at day’s end. Nothing hifaluting, nothing of grandeur, nothing for a bigger cause. Just something I can live with in all honesty and put food on the table. And oh, something that will pay my SSS contributions.

I’m not looking for jobs in Manhattan, a job in Sorsogon will do…for now.

I placed something in the side bar. It’s a campaign to put bicolandia’s Mayon Volcano in the New 7 Wonders of Nature.

Vote now for Mayon Volcano in the New 7 Wonders of Nature.

To Reyna Elena and The Cat: better late than never ako.

To all readers, please vote.

It’s Monday again and September is winding down fast. Before we knew it, it will be Christmas and 2009.

But I don’t wanna think that far ahead. Today, Monday there are too much stuff I am thankful for.

Thankful that Typhoon Nina didn’t hit Sorsogon.

Thankful to be alive.

Thankful to make it home ’sane’.

Thankful that my white/blackheads aren’t acne.

Thankful for my Yahoo Messenger.

Thankful for the Smart Gold account.

Thankful for the additional $$$.

Thankful for dating Raine on Saturday.

Thankful for the eggplants growing in the yard.

This is the one other person that truly makes me happy but makes me cry as well.

Taken today in his sporty/casual Friday get-up:

Today’s motiff is in Raine’s favorite color: GREEN.

Hmmm…hindi mukhang nagpapasaway! He he.

How long should a kid sleep with his parent(s)? I hope not too long, as Raine and I are still co-sleeping. I remember when it was just me and the oldest of my 3 brothers, we used to sleep with our parents until when I was 10 and was moved to my own bed. My brother stayed there ’til he was 14, the twins had to be born before he would budge. He he. He’d kill me if he is reading this now.

He was such the baby that’s all but he eventually turned out to be an an independent, responsible man. I’m just a little scared that if Raine sleeps with me any longer he’ll be such a baby baby when he grows up. But then he’s just barely six and isn’t budging on my left side of the bed even if i am sort of ‘kicking’ him out already. Go…sleep on your own, we have a small old bed, you can start sleeping there Raine. AYAW. There are nights he ended up sleeping with lola though.

Well, it has been a long time since I worried only about crib bedding regarding our sleeping patterns/habits. Believe me, that is a lot easier than ‘weaning’ Raine now of sleeping with me.

Raine’s turning 6 on Dec 29, which makes him 6.5 years only by the time the next school year opens in June. We are hoping Raine’s going to get admitted in grade 1 when June 2009 comes.

Yesterday, he came home with his ‘mid-term exam’ paper: only 1 mistake. When I taught that he’s not going to get half of it the way that Raine seems not too serious with school work. But then who am I kidding, he’s not even 6 yet. He’s supposed to be having more fun.

Wow look at the time, my boy’s going to first grade soon. If I will put each moment in picture frames, may division na ang bahay namin!

Hala, mag pasko pala muna. Ang apurado ko naman! Ha ha.

The time has come, I cannot drink coffee anymore and pretty much anything else with caffeine.

I can’t believe the day will come. I’ve been drinking milk for more than two weeks now. A tough toll for somebody who is a hard coffee drinker.

Well anyway, the day has come to say goodbye to coffee. Goodbye coffee. Goodbye coffeemaker. Goodbye espresso machines.

only in bicol:

I’ve been thinking a lot what to do with this blog. I gotta keep it for sentimentality’s sake and for some meager monetization efforts. After all, this blog pays my electric bill. Well anyways, I’ve got some things I gotta get off my chest.

First of all, this blog was supposedly started so that Ruth and I will be able to exchange photos and stories of our kids. Then later on I was sidetracked and I have to admit I written here stuff to hurt some people. What was my excuse? Nothing. Except that I was either angry or sad or both. I know those aren’t excuses either and I really truly apologize from the bottom of my heart.

(more…)

In college, there’s this way-too-cool girl who carries a billiard stick, slinged on her shoulders and smokes Marlboro Lights Menthol. (You know who you are K!)

That was my definition of C-O-O-L back then, a mahinhin girl who can kick asses on the billiards table. She kicked asses I know.

Later on in my professional life, when all my closest friends have gone and moved on with their new lives, I ended up hanging with a bunch of guys crazy about playing billiards.

I never understood it though, so I just watched them. I knew it was very mathematical, scientific. Remember the rectangular coordinate system? Still I can’t help there’s still some stroke of luck in there, like a thread-thin stroke of luck. I could be wrong of course. Me who get confused between the 8 ball and the escalera, or is that the same? Ambot!

Anyways, I must have been one boring fat girl in college who just knew how to drown lambanog down her throat. hahaha!

Hmmm…I still recall that cool billiard girl. She’s still cool I’m sure.

I can’t remember the last time I wrote a cover letter with success (read: landed me the job) — I guess in those days application letters as I remember them being called were still handwritten. Ha ha.

Since I got pregnant with Raine, I’ve been wanting to leave the lab and so while still on board my last day job, I’ve been scouring for other jobs. It has been more than two years since I left the last job, wala pa ring kapalit.

Hmmm…maybe I should get serious in writing those cover letters.

These days writing the best cover letters that can land your next job is as easy as purchasing a template from Land That Job -Resumes and Cover Letters.

It’s as easy as purchasing a template that will help you make that cover letter that will convince the reader to look at your resume. I guess it really pays taking a look at Land that Job!

To everyone that panicked with my panic, I’m really sorry. I shouldn’t publish posts in the throes of anger or panic or nay combination there is of strong emotions.

I got sick, spent 5 days in the hospital. Now am back home and is having sleeping problems. My mother’s right thumb is now swollen with texting too many people. To help her,  just a quick note here to let everyone else know that I am back home and getting better.

Pssst. Am not even supposed to be up at this hour and much more be online. I’ve got 8 minutes left, my bro has set the clock. I gotta be obedient. Bye for now.

THANKS to everyone who offered their help, support and prayers. My whole family appreciates it a LOT.