Something to Reflect On - For Corporate "Slaves"

I came across this article  contributed/written by Charlene J. Owen, published on Sept. 15, 2017 in Female Network site under Work/Money. Credits go to Ms. Owen and I am only re-posting this in my blog so that whenever I feel stressed at work, reading this will just reassure me that how fast or slow I go up the corporate ladder (or just stagnant) does not define success in my life. 

For you people who have become slaves of their career just so they could get the promotion they want, take time off to read this article because this is exactly for you.

You Have Complete Control Over Your Happiness at Work 

Because sometimes, the right answer is "Kebs."

by Charlene J. Owen | Sep 15, 2017

It’s understandable to be passionate about something that you love doing, and it’s great to be driven by excellence even if you’d rather be doing something else. However, investing too much of yourself in your job can also be counter-productive; you get stressed more often and you end up thinking about work even if you’re already out of the office.

We live in a society that’s unhealthily fixated with work. “I speak daily with individuals from Silicon Valley to Scandinavia about their obsessions with work—obsessions that, by their own accounts, are making them miserable,” writes practical philosopher Andrew Taggart on the World Economic Forum. “Nevertheless, they assume that work is worth caring a lot about because of the fulfillment and rewards it supplies, so much so that it should be the center of life.”

The key to happiness is to stop making everything revolve around your 9-to-5. You have to practice just the right amount of “wa pakels” for you to balance your life:

 

Detach yourself from a single idea of success.

If success for you means getting to the top of the corporate ladder by hook or by crook, then you’ll probably end up scampering your way up, stepping on other people, and being perpetually on your toes for the off-chance of skipping a few rungs. Just imagine Miranda Priestly from Devil Wears Prada. She notes that “Everybody wants to be us.” Pause for the moment and realize what that entails: a trail of broken marriages and a generally unhappy personal life. 

 

You don't need to let go of ambition. You only need to understand that internal happiness and corporate success are two different things, and that one can be achieved without the other. You don’t need to be the boss to be happy, and really, you’ll only be an effective leader if you’re not grasping desperately on to power. Once you cut yourself some slack and realize this, you’ll find that there are more important things in life than what’s on your resume.

Do things without thought of how they will benefit you.

Take a chill pill—not everything you need to do should be about how to get that next promotion. Even when you’re at work, allow yourself to deviate from your tight schedule. Take a walk, escape for a quick massage, have drinks with folks from another department, or even volunteer as a performer for your company anniversary program.

 

The point is, you’re not a robot. You need space to breathe (and basically, have a life) even within office walls. Find relaxing moments that don’t require you to have a solid goal and simply enjoy them. “By these means, we can plunge into life, engaging our senses while suspending our buzzing, noisy workday concerns,” says Andrew.

 

Reflect on who you are.

Yes, it sounds cheesy, but it does make sense to ask “Is this really who I am” during times when you’re too focused on thoughts of success that other life priorities seem to fade in the background. Girl, you’re not your job title. When you die, they won’t put ‘Senior Vice President’ on your tombstone. While ambition is great, temper it with heart. You’ll be happier once you remember to consider that there’s more to life than your career.

I Fell In Love With Japan and the Japanese People

If I have a choice I will leave my current  job and be a travel blogger. I love traveling be it outside the country or just in the Philippines.

Right now I have crossed off Japan from my bucket list. But because I fell in love with this country, I no, we, want to go back and explore more of its culture. We want to go to Hokkaido and experience more of Japan's natural beauty.

Japanese people are like Filipinos. Accommodating, happy, polite and courteous that's what they are. Aside from the fact that they are very hard-working and disciplined, you won't see garbage/trash on the side streets nor in their busy shopping districts. If there are any trash you will see the crew putting it in their large trash bins.

They are also helpful, a couple of times that we looked like we were lost inside the subway, twice also that we were approached by a japanese asking if we need help with the train line. They are so KIND. And I thought we Filipinos are the only hospitable asians in our continent.

Now I'm back in Manila but my heart was left in Japan.

Here is a sneak peek of why I fell in love with Japan.

TENNOJI PARK, OSAKA

MUSEUM INSIDE THE TENNOJI PARK

DOTONBORI, OSAKA

DOTONBORI, OSAKA

UNIVERSAL STUDIOS, OSAKA

ODAIBA, TOKYO

SHIBUYA CROSSING, TOKYO

INSIDE CINDERELLA'S CASTLE, TOKYO DISNEYLAND

TOKYO DISNEYLAND

OSAKA BAY, OSAKA

It's FINAL, we are going to Osaka, Japan

Hi Guys!

Remember my last post about my excitement because we will be off somewhere come October?

Of course don't want to divulge at once as this will require a visa and what if we don't get approved? With luck, prayers and of course valid and genuine documents, we finally got our visa. 

We applied for a visa in Friendship Tours and Travels last October 14, Saturday. We got a text from them that our passports are ready for pick up on Tuesday afternoon. I picked those up during my lunch break the next day. And yes its true if your passports have white stickers of the travel agency posted at the back of your passports, it is an indication that your visa got approved. Anyway, I guess I will post another entry on the procedures that we took in applying for a visa and what websites and forum have I read first before applying for one.

Can't wait for next week. I will try as much as possible to post entry while we are there. Try lang naman.

Reviewing the Plans I made during the 1st quarter of 2017

Oh hello once again! It's the start of the 3rd quarter of the year. How time flies so fast talaga no? Two more weeks and its August, it will be a month before the ber-months starts. I remember back in the 1st quarter of this year, I blogged about my plans for the rest of the year. I did that because I was so unmotivated to move. Plus the stress of having to deal with audit season is eating me up. Now, we are into the second half of the year.  I want to assess where I am  now in the plans I've made during the first half which you can read HERE.

April - Yes done with the audit season with a slight smile on my face. Slight lang? Yes because after filing the reports and everything, si auditor madami pa ring tanong. He was just actually finishing up his documentation, pero kahit na. Nakakapagod sumagot sa tanong niya ah.

May - We have not been to Laiya for a 2-day vacation I was hoping. But at least we were able to have a staycation at Vivere Hotel from April 29-30. Relaxing pa rin naman. And yes, we were able to renew our passports, Yey!

During this month also, I enrolled in a gym. I decided to get fit aside from losing weight. What got me into enrolling was that I got so stressed out during the audit season, remember? Ginto ang bayad kaya I am motivated to  visit the gym at least 3x a week. From 138 lbs, my weight now is 131.5 lbs after 3 months of going to the gym. More that 10 lbs to go as my BMI says that I should at least weigh 118 lbs. for my height. Kinda slow, but it's the right way of losing weight. Hindi yung yoyo diet. Papayat, tataba, papayat, tataba uli.

June -We have not gotten a US visa yet. Have not even "explored" yet. But during this month, we made a life-changing decision. I can not say it yet but I hope we will be able to sustain it.

And now it's July. I am "exploring" but no concrete "exploration" yet. Hope I find the right one.

Let us see what will happen for the rest of the months of 2017. I am just excited for our October trip. 3.5 months more to go and hello _ _ A_ _, _ _ _ A _!.

Ayan ang clue, fill in the blanks na lang.

Note to Self #1

Acceptance and tolerance of things that don't really matter is the key of a lasting relationship.

User Friendly "Friends"

Always, in our lifetime, we shall encounter user friendly people who speaks to us only when they need something from us. Akala mo kung sinong ka close mo, pero may hinihingi naman palang pabor.

It's okay that you ask favor, but yung biglang feeling close sayo when in fact dinadaan daanan ka lang dati, nakaka yamot yun.

Then after mong pagbigyan yung favor, biglang dadaan daanan ka na lang uli. Hahahahaha. 

Kung pabor lang naman e di ganito sana approach mo. " Hi! Pahingi naman ng favor please, ok lang ba na blah, blah, blah, blah.... etc...."

Ang manipulative lang kasi ng dating na feeling close ka sa akin e. I can do favors for you, magpaka totoo ka lang. No need to be FC. Ayusin mo lang ang paghingi ng pabor. Ok?

Eto Talaga ang Import ng TNT

Ang saya ko dahil nag champion uli ang Warriors. Malungkot nga lang dahil 2-0 na ang standing sa Semis ng PBA between BGSM vs TNT.

Hayop! Ang hirap talunin. Pero feeling ko, maambunan ng konting luck ang BGSM, kaya naman nila e. Anu ba naman ang lamang, 4 na puntos lang. Ibig sabihin, may ibubuga ang Kabaranggay, need lang ng konti pang suerte.

Di ka ba naman kasi matakot bumangga sa import nila, e bato yun.

Di kaya nag didisguise lang syang tao? Para kasing di tao e no? Secret daw ng TNT, huwag kayong maingay, eto daw talaga ang import nila pag naghubad na nang maskara:

Ito talaga si Smith

Hahahaha! Joke lang, ang di matawa bungi.

Congrats GSW!

Sabi ko na mananalo kayo eh!

Warriors won Game 5 with final score of 129-120 and KD named as NBA 2017 finals MVP.

Mas masarap manalo sa hometown diba?

Photo Credits to http://www.gospelherald.com

Kung sa NBA nanalo na ang GSW sana sa PBA manalo na rin ang GSM para maka advance sa finals!

Yahoo!

Summer 2017 Recap

Summer has ended and I realized wala pala kaming pinuntahang beach ng family ko. The outing I had in Antique was the Company's outing and team building. I said to myself pa naman, gusto ko mag unwind sa beach together with my hubby and son after audit season.

After audit season, waley. The only opportunity we had na mag unwind was when we had a staycation in Vivere Hotel in Alabang during the ASEAN summit week, when Malacanang declared April 28 a holiday. I will write a different post about this coz we had a very satisfied customer service from them during our stay.

But what kept my kid busy this summer? Here it is:

May 1- 5 we enrolled him at JACK (Junior Academy for Coding Knowledge) under the SCRATCH course. What is SCRATCH? From their website JACK , "Scratch is a programming platform and educational tool used by kids who are beginning to discover the exciting world of programming. This programming language introduces the fundamentals of developing various applications. The students learn the foundations by dragging blocks of code, ultimately creating their very own stories, animations, and games"

Kids from 8 years old onwards can enroll under this course. Kids were introduced to the world of coding by creating their very own game. On their last day, parents were invited to witness their kids presenting the game that they themselves programmed. Here's how Wyeth did in his presentation:

Sorry kung tabingi.

 May 16,18,23 and 25 was the annual basketball clinic conducted by my hubby's company. 

May 31 and June 1 was the GSMI leadership training for employees' kids which I think aims to discover future leaders/ managers among the kids and develop their potentials.

Diba mga momshies puro workshops and training lang ginawa ng bata. I am now contemplating kung magpa habol ako sa June 12, anyways it's a long weekend once again.

Kayo mommies, what were your kids activities during summer?

On Falling, Getting Up and Moving Forward

Good Morning! Parang may hugot ang title? Oo Mommies meron!

I was doing my treadmill last night while listening to my playlist in my iphone when I accidentally pulled my headset which made the iphone dropped on the treadmill. Me, being the amateur me, I ran after my cellphone without pressing the emergency button. E di tumalembong ang ganda ko.

Dahil maganda ako, naglapitan ang mga trainor. Joke! Lumapit sila sa akin out of concern. One asked if I was ok. I said yes, pakihanap na lang cellphone ko please. Nung nahanap sabi ko thanks, then went riding the treadmill once again as if nothing happened. I didn't feel any shame whatsoever di ko alam kung kapalmuks lang talaga ako o manhid ako.

When I was telling the story to my hubby he laughed so hard and asked where was I situated and I said in front. "E di lahat nakita ka?" Oo, so? Sasabihin ko, ako lang ba ang tumalembong sa treadmill? Pano pag sinabi nila oo? E di ako na! Ako na ang magandang kauna-unahang tumalembong sa treadmill. Lolz. Sabi ni hubby, di ba may CCTV camera dun? Siguro paulit ulit ka nilang pinanunood. Walang hiya gusto talaga akong mapahiya.

Thinking about it, nakakahiya nga ano? But then, these people may laugh, but  they will also forget about it later. Maalala pa ba nila ako? But I stood my ground. Hindi ako nagpatinag sa hiya because my session is not yet over. I had to finish my remaining 15 minutes running time.

Dapat ganun tayo in real life diba? Problems like money, family, love life, friends, work may bring us down, but these should not keep us from rising up again. When we fail, let us not be afraid to try once more. Again and again and again until we finally achieved what we were striving for.

I am a CPA. I did not take the board exams once. It was more than twice. I had to take a refreshers' course to be able to take the board  again. I took the board after the refreshers' course and I was conditional. I had to retake two subjects just for me to get my license na. Imagine how many times I cried whenever I don't see my name on the list of passers. Imagine how many nights I had to stay late just to practice solving problems. Imagine how many cups of coffee I had to drink just to stay awake while reading my materials. I did not let these failures hinder my dream of becoming a certified public accountant. I had other classmates who took the board, failed then lost interest in trying again. I didn't.  I cried hard, but then after, my motivation to pass only intensified. And then the right time came as what the Lord promised. I finally passed the exams 12 years ago.

During job interviews, I am not ashamed to say that I am not a one-take-board-exam-passer. Why? Because I want to to tell them that it is not important how many times I took the board, what's important is that I passed and what made me passed is that attitude of not giving up.

Looking back to the ordeal I went through, hindi siya biro. Those failures drained me mentally, psychologically, emotionally and financially. I reached the point when I wanted to let go and just give up. But giving up doesn't prove anything. I put my faith in Him and trusted Him when my right time will be. And He didn't fail me. 

Anyways, bakit ba tayo napunta sa istorya ng buhay ko, e treadmill ang pinaguusapan natin. Pero may connect naman diba, kahit papano?

O eto, ganito itsura ko habang tumalembong ang ganda ko, pero hindi ako yan ha. Imagine-in niyo na lang na ako yan para tumawa muna kayo.

                                                  Courtesy of  Protein Fart You tube channel

Basta, when you fail don't be scared to try once again. When you make a mistake, laughing at yourself makes it easier for you to correct it. 

Magandang huwebes sa inyo mga peeps!

We Let Go then We Feel Happy

What to let go to achieve happiness? 

1. Expectations

2. Privileges

3. Comparison

4. Anger

5. Hurt

I was talking with somebody very close to me last night, and I can really feel the anger and hurt she was feeling.  She was angry because she was hurt. She was hurt because she expected something. She expected something, because she thought it was her privilege to expect because she did a favor for that person. Then she compared that person to another person who I believe is fictional in character but real in person.

Do what you think is right then don't expect anything in return. Don't expect a favor to be returned, don't expect them to say thank you, don't expect them to praise you. Just thank the Lord that you were able to help. Period.

Things may not go the way you expect it but in the end, how you deal with it will always be your choice . Choose to be understanding instead of being angry. Choose to let go instead of dwelling in the past. Choose to be grateful instead of feeling jealous. 

Choose to be happy because it is no one else's responsibility but YOURS.

Happiness is a choice.....and the choice is YOURS! 

Happy Tuesday! Let go of bad vibes. Ignore. Let go. Move forward.

Be Grateful For Each Blessing...

Credits to Brainy Quote

It's wonderful to be aware of each little blessing that we receive everyday. A grateful heart is a humble heart, knowing that all these are just borrowed from God and can be taken back in an instance. It is not ours to keep, but instead to share. And if we do not know how to be thankful for these simple things, then we do not acknowledge how generous our God is.

San galing ang hugot?

Bigayan ng incentives, and may ears hurt whenever I hear, malaki din naman deduction nang tax jan e. Goodness, why can't that person be just thankful that we have this above average bonus that the Board approves to give us every freaking May? Why can't that person be thankful that our company performs well every year, that it can afford to payout bonuses to us employees?

Anung gusto mo dayain ko tax? Malaki bonus mo, malamang malaki din tax mo! Logic diba? Our company is not a big company, but we give out bonuses and incentives at par with multinational companies and sometimes more than pa nga.

That being said, sana matuto kang magpa salamat sa mga natatanggap mo. You know, the more you complain, the more that you will feel you are lacking something in your life. Learn to appreciate simple things, and you will feel you have more than enough.

Tama na muna ito, at nang marelease ko na bonus namin. Yehey! 

Again for the nth time, I thank you Lord for making me an instrument and giving me another opportunity to share my blessings to those who really need this. Amen. 

Half Ready for School Year 2017-2018

Yes! Na-enroll na rin si Bagets. Had to take a leave of absence pa last weeek para lang ma-enroll ang bagets. Kaso di ko talaga maintindihan ang efficiency ng bookstore nila. Alam niyo, there was a time, na kulang kulang ang books. May pasok na, waley pa rin ang Math book so hindi ako nakapag advance reading for the kid. Last year ang kulang naman ang grade number patch. Aba this year walang notebooks. Enebeyen? Consistent! Napaka efficient ng bookstore ha? June 5 na ang pasukan ah.

Anyways, by this weekend pa kami bibili ng uniform and school supplies. This weekend pa rin ako mag cocover ng books. His bag still the same. Yung parang maleta sa laki at bigat. Next year na lang sya mag palit ng bag pag grade 5 na sya.

Hayz! Ang bilis talaga ng panahon. Grade Four na sya. Parang kelan lang no? 

Mag papasukan na, ni hindi lang kami nakapag beach. Meron gustong puntahan si Papa A, resort din sya. Dun na lang daw kasi ganun din naman ang magagastos. Tingnan ko ang budget at need rin namin mag ipon for our travel in October. Kun san man yan, let's wait and see.

O sya. Till next update.

What We Did in Kidzania Manila (Part 2)

Here's the second part, I mean our second time in Kidzania. This time around we let him try the following:

• Pizza Maker at Yellow Cab
• Softdrinks QA at Coca cola
• Ice cream maker at Magnolia
• Courier at DHL
• Police Patrol
• Cashier at Healthy Options
• Gasoline boy at Shell 

I mentioned in the previous post that W made a mistake in one of the jobs that he did. That job was being a courier. He was tasked to deliver two parcels to two different establishment and ask the receiver to sign the docs as received. The first establishment was just beside DHL, so easy to find. After a couple of minutes, I saw him return to the first establishment. I asked him why, he said he delivered the wrong parcel to the wrong establishment and he had to retrieve the parcel to deliver the correct parcels to the correct establishments. 

He may have made a mistake about it, but I think the one who receives should also be careful and check first whether it is the correct parcel that should be delivered to them. With W, it's a petty mistake, but if it happens in real life, I'm sure lots of complaints from clients.  

Anyways, the mistake may seem petty with the kids, but there is a huge learning on that incident. One, the kid was able to identify the problem. Two, he made an effort to correct it. And three, he now knows that it is not very easy to earn money. Mistake like that could cost him his job in real life.

I summarized the videos on the second day, with few pictures from the first day. Just three minutes of your time for me to share with you how amazing  it is to experience Kidzania Manila;

We still plan to go back the third time. There's still a lot that he has not experience yet. Tax Collector, Judge, Race Car Driver, Construction worker, Nurse, City Tour Guide, Model, Actor, Newscaster, TV Host. ang Dami diba?

By the way, the pizza he made, the softdrinks he inspected and bottled, and the ice cream he churned. It was all given to them after the job. Galing diba?

Before summer ends, mga mamshies, let your child experience Kidzania Manila. At the end of that experience, they will learn a lot about life, and you mommies, will learn a lot about your child.

Go na!

What We Did in Kidzania Manila for Two Days (Part 1)

Here's the blog I owe you about our Kidzania Manila experience. Forgive me for the very amateurish, shaky video I prepared. Sana wag kayo mahilo. Promise I will do better next time.

Due to stress I felt during audit season, I decided to treat my son to a Kidzania experience. This will be our first time since it opened a couple of years back.

Eto ang boarding pass to enter Kidzania:

At the counter, they will give the kids a check worth 50 kidzos that you will have to encash in BPI inside Kidzania. Of course this is a pretend check and pretend money and a pretend bank.

The first thing  he did was to experience being a firefighter.

Prepping them for their fire fighting in the city

As Pharmacist

As Veterinarian

Sorry was not able to take a lot of pictures. Pag tiyagaan nio na lang muna ang video sa ibaba;

To wrap it up he was able to do the following jobs on the first day:

• Fire Fighter
• Soccer Player 
• Pilot
• Marine biologist
• Hotel housekeeper
• Laundry staff
• Car Designer
• Veterinarian
• Pharmacist
• A bookstore assistant

The first 3 jobs, he paid for as pretend training. The next jobs he was paid for the services he rendered.

Our verdict? These jobs may be pretend jobs, but kids will learn a lot from these, from being responsible to being accountable. I highly recommend this activity for all kids and teens. This is to prepare you guys for your future self and whatever career you may want to venture into.

And because we enjoyed Kidzania so much, after 3 weeks, that was Black Saturday, we decided to come back. There was a 20% discount on our fees and we paid around P1950 for the three of us. Without discount that would have been P2,600++.

There was this job however, that my son made a mistake. You know if its real life that is actually a HUGE mistake. What did he do? I will tell you all about it on another entry, tamad na ako mag type e.

Wait for it, okay?

My Current Obssession?

Hi! Its May, isang hatsing na lang half of 2017 is gone. 

Anyways, you know aside from following bloggers, I also follow a lot of youtubers. To name a few, Itsjudyslife, Anneclutzvlogs, Anna Cay, Maphyduck. I got hooked on their vlogs because of the content. Nakaka happy and at nakaka inspire everytime I finished watching their vlogs. Pag bad trip araw mo nood nood ka lang, after that, gagaan ang pakiramdam mo. Why? Because these people, despite of and inspite of, they chose to be positive and happy. Yes, edited ang vlogs, but a sincere person will exude their real selves kahit in front of a camera.

And yes, eto ang pinagkaka abalahan ko lately. I seldom watch TV na lang. Nakaka stress kasi ang news. I binge watch on weekends (aside from NETFLIX) and it makes my day positive.

Recently Ana Cay has been going viral because of the "galisin" dog that she took care of by feeding, bathing and giving medicines for the fleas.

 

Ayan si Ana, a dog lover and this dog is the dog of her neighbor, mejo walwal na dog kasi, pagala gala lang sa street nila. Anyway na feature ang story niya dito sa link na ito  Ana Cay treats dog.

O diba, the reason why I like her is because of her good heart. To think na may kaya ang pamilya niya, she remained to be humble and caring not only to people around her but to animals as well.

I hope you can follow her sa youtube channel niya. I swear ma i-inlove ka sa personality nya. Just search sa youtube yung name nya, and it will pop up already.

O sige til next time.

Travel Bucket List

I hope to cross off my list some of these countries and cities in the future:

ASIA

• Japan
• Vietnam
• South Korea
• Thailand
• Indonesia
• Maldives

AUSTRALIA

• Sydney
• Melbourne

NORTH AMERICA

• California
• San Francisco
• New York
• Chicago
• Washington
• Florida

EUROPE

• Iceland
• Netherlands
• Norway
• Switzerland
• Germany
• Denmark

MIDDLE EAST

• Dubai
• Qatar

Since I was a kid, my ambition is to travel the world. If others wanted to own a mansion or ferrari or an estate, me my main goal is to travel to places around my country and the world. If you can hear a person say this before, the first thing that you will think about is that it is too expensive. But now, there a lot of budget airlines that suits your lifestyle. For accomodation, there are hostels, backpacker inn, and airbnbs that are very affordable and won't break your bank.

Travelling nowadays is not anymore a luxury but a necessity. In a fast-paced and stressful world that we now live in, we need to unwind, we need to have an outlet, we need to have a breathe of fresh air. And for me the best way is to travel. It does not only help us relax but travelling is a first-hand experience of learning about the places's culture and history which we only read in schoolbooks when we were still students.

I have only been to four countries so far, Hongkong, Singapore, Brunei and Malaysia but those were the best experiences in my whole life. I have learned about their culture and the more I learned about them, the more I learned about my country, the more I learn about my country, the more I know myself. So yes, I agree, travelling is not an expense, travelling is an investment, an investment in yourself. So go ahead, plan and live your dream of going places.  Happy travelling!

5 Reasons Why you need to watch "13 Reasons Why"

I've just finished binge-watching 13 Reasons Why on Netflix. How? Watched during traffic, to and from office. Watched while doing threadmill. Watched at night until 2:00 am. Started watching last Sunday afternoon and right now I am done with the 13 episodes.

It's a story about a highschool student, Hannah, who committed suicide because of life issues that she can no longer handle. Before she committed suicide, she recorded 13 audio files about the people who triggered her to do it. If you received the set of tapes, it means you are one of reasons why she did it, thus the title "13 Reasons Why".  But what does a highschool student usually go through in life that made her want to end her life?  Better watch it and you will know. There are lots of insights here which can help us parents bring up our children and now, I will enumerate my 5 reasons why we need to see this series.

1. The series revolved around the lives of all the students who were included in Hannah's list who made her end her life.  You will know the reason behind every personality and character of each of the students. And not surprisingly, parents play a big role in developing the personalities of their children. If you are a parent, this series is a revelation.
2. It tackles bullying inside the school. If you have no idea what school bullying looks like, well, it's all over the show. It helps you be aware what is bullying. In case you are not in touch with your kid's life, you better be because you can never tell if your kid is being bullied or not. You have to have a strong bond with them to feel it.
3. As a kid, you are made to be responsible for your own actions. The kids that were involved have different reactions when they learned that they are in the list. Most were in denial. Some admitted to their actions. Some want to cover their actions to the point of wanting to kill one of them. But one thing to learn from this series is that most of the kids who owned up knew the meaning of responsibility at such a young age. They knew that how they treated others has an effect on their fellowmen. 
4. If parents play a big role on prevention of bullying, the school also has its share in prevention. Hannah's school seemed to be oblivious of bullying inside the school. It's either the school officers don't know about the issue or they just chose to keep mum about it. 
5. And lastly, I noticed that kids here are so obsessed with what others will say about them that they heed to peer pressure. Learn to say no. Learn to go against the flow. Be yourself. Clay is one character that you will admire because he couldn't care less what others think of him. He accepts himself the way he is and he is cool with that.

If you are a parent, I recommend that you watch this one. It will open your eyes on the subject of bullying and abuse. It may make you paranoid, but paranoid is ok than regretting it at the end.

Holy Week Then vs Now

Hello once again peeps! How was your four-day rest from work? Sulit or bitin? For me its sulit na bitin. Sulit coz I slept most of the rest days I had. Bitin beacause I slept nga all day, wala akong nagawa sa house. Plano ko na kasing ayusin ang bedroom ni bagets.

Parang hanging dumaan lang ang holy week no? We did the usual, Visita Iglesia sa 7 churches.  I used to do it with my Mom sa Manila. Diba dikit dikit ang mga churches dun? Now, Mom's kinda hirap na talaga lumakad, so I did it with my hubby and son na lang. But instead of going to Manila, churches near Antipolo ang binisita namin. First stop was Padre Pio Chapel in Libis. This was where we did the 15 stations of the cross with a "cross" literally on our shoulders. Photos are not allowed so no pictures of us "carrying our crosses".

So here's the list of the next six churches that we went to after Padre Pio:

2. Sta. Clara in Katipunan
3. Our Lady of Abandoned Church in Marikina
4. St Therese in Marcos Hiway, Antipolo
5. St. John Mary Vianney in Mayamot, Antipolo
6. Santo Nino de Praga Parish in Cogeo, Antipolo
7. Immaculate Conception Parish in Taktak Road, Antipolo

We left our home at 7:15 am and we were able to get back at 11:00. Ang bilis namin no?

Anyways, as I said ang bilis dumaan ng holy week noh? Naalala nio ba dati and I can very well remember, ang tagal matapus ng holy week. Ang palabas sa tv, 7 last words, Himala ni Nora Aunor at ang walang katapusang The Ten Commandments. No choice ka talaga kungdi manuod para lang lumipas ang araw.

Ngayun, parang hangin lang. Its all because of the technology. Di na tayo naiinip kasi puede tayong mag YouTube, mag FB, mag Instagram. In short, our time is taken away by the social media stuff. Nalimutan na natin ang kahalagahan ng pag mumuni muni tuwing Holy Week.

Anyways, our Saturday was spent at Kidzania. Yes! Again! There was another 25% off as Weekend comeback treat. And so, 2 Kidzania visits na ang utang ko. Here's a sneak peek of what he did inside.

O sya, till next blog post.

Updates in my Buhay

Wala namang kaganapang wagas. I am just tired because of the ongoing financial audit. Lam mo na pag accountant, stressed-out to the max pag audit season.

Ibang klase naman kasi tong na assign na auditor sa kin. Wagasan ang mga tanong. Not that I don't want to be asked. Ok nga yun para mas makapag bigay linaw sa mga findings nya.

Pero hello, ang tanong paulit-ulit. As if naman mag iiba iba ako ng sagot. Yahip!

Sana mapagud na sya at matapus na. Gusto ko ng mag holy week. Gusto ko ng mag beach (but not during the holy week huh).

Gusto ko ng mag diet, dahil sa stress eating ko nananaba na naman ako. Gusto kong uminom ng green juices for detox. Gusto ko mag explore. Gusto kong ayusin files at recording ng business namin. Gusto ko. Gusto ko. Gusto ko.

Ang dami kong gusto gawin di ko magawa kasi hindi pa sya matapos tapus.

Oi enough of the rants.

Syanga pala, we were in Kidzania last Saturday. As usual nag enjoy ang bagets. He wasn't able to experience all the jobs nga lang. So we will come back on Easter. Instead of easter egg hunt, mag trabaho na lang sya ulit. I will post a separate entry for that. Sana sipagin ako.

Actually si auditor naka upo sa harap ko habang nag blo blog ako. Hahahaha. Pasaway kasi sya. Gusto ko na umuwi ayaw pa tumigil. Tse!

Anger Management- How To?

I think I seriously need this or my hormones must be going wild at this time of the month.  I can't seem to contain my anger. Little things piss me off when I know I should maintain calmness and patience.

I kenat, for the love of God, I really kenat!

But when I think of all the blessings God has shower upon us, it makes me think that I am such an ungrateful bi_ch. 

Alam nio ba yung gospel song na I Seek You For I Thirst?  The refrain goes like this:

"Though many times I ran from you in shame

I lift my hands and call upon your name

For underneath the shadow of your wings

My melody is you"

Yan ako minsan, no, madalas nahihiya ako kay God, sa daming kasalanan na ang nagawa ko. And yet He remains faithful to me.

There's no really scientific formula in managing our anger. Being angry means we lack faith in Him, that we resort to anger, resentment, bitterness. When in fact a single sincere prayer is powerful enough to melt our anger.

So how do we manage anger? We lift everything up to Him through prayers and believe that everything will be alright. He alone gives us comfort. He alone can solve our problems. He alone will help us melt away our anger. Surrender ourselves to God and we will experience peace over wrath.

God bless your Wednesday!

 

 

There's Always a Next Time

Hey Ginkings, it was good fight. Hold your head up high because it was a battle well fought. There will be a lot of conferences to come until its time to once again shine. We, your fans, still believe in you and still support you all the way.

Clap, clap, clap, clap....... You showed us your NSD spirit once again. It may not have been enough this time but still that was a good fight. Climbing from the 7th seed was not easy. But still you managed to reach the finals. Be proud that your sister team, our sister team has gotten what it really deserved. They deserved to win because their hunger was much more intense than yours. And that hunger was all because of this....

Credits to Rappler

Congrats Beermen! You deserved the perpetual trophy. But then if you can do it, so can the Ginkings!

Till next conference!