Picking My Shattered Pieces Up

The year is almost ending again. Looking back to what has happened this year, I have realized so many things even the tiniest details I used to ignore. Making myself busy all the time and confining myself to the world of work has made me shut my eyes, deafened my ears and zipped my mouth.

In the middle of this year, the time of finally stroking my wings has came. I embraced the beauty of traveling, learning other people's culture and meeting people. Has it given me something worth remembering? Jotting down those worth remembering, the pages of my diary won't be enough.

One thing that makes me smile when I remember the past events would be making my mind think in a broader perspective. Broader, I would say in a sense of analyzing what is real and what is not, what is a lie and what is the truth, who the real people are and who the fake ones are. I have came to realize I am capable of doing those. 

The second is that I was able to open up with something I haven't done for a long time; love and extend care to strangers. I thought I was already numb but then no. I can still love and cry over love. Is it worth remembering? Yes, definitely! 

The third; no matter how I try to fix something that is already broken, the scar will always be there. People may and may not forgive what you have done wrong even you have asked for sincere apologies. I guess it is time to start something new; something that won't give me emotional torture just like now. It won't be easy to move on but I know I will soon get there. I am aware that the tunnel of smile is waiting for me to walk pass and see the beauty of it again.

Although I had endured a lot of things this year, I am still thankful for all of those. Those will be my stepping stone to become better and even stronger.  Bring it on! I will conquer you in any way I can!

Challenge accepted!

Padis Point Araneta: Discourteous Barista

Last Sunday, December 14, 2014, my friends and I decided to have a drink after lunch just to kill time before my husband and I travel back home. The last time we met, we had drinks at Padis point Araneta so we thought of going there. My husband requested to sit and drink in front of the counter.  While we were looking at the menu, I thought of trying other kinds of drinks. The guys wanted to have whiskey and I feel like having Corona beer or any super dry beer. Unfortunately, they only have the local beers available, there's not even whiskey. Jel asked for rhum and coke; with that, we noticed the barista seemed to have lack of knowledge of the different kinds of drinks their bar is offering.

What annoyed us was this;

Non-verbatim;

Jel; Do you have rhum and coke? (May rhum and coke kayo?)

Barista: No, we don't. (Wala  din)

But we can see, they have rhum and other softdrinks on display. We just let it go.  Then Jel asked for another drink, when the barista suddenly answered;

Barista: Ma'am, you can choose our cocktails, it's way cheaper. (Magcocktail nalang kayo mas mura pa)

Jel: I don't want that. Don't worry, I have money to pay for my drinks. Give me your most expensive and I will pay for it. ( Ayoko ko nyan kuya eh, huwag ka mag alala, may pambayad ako. Pakibigay ng pinakamahal nyo diyan, babayaran ko )

She told this to him even smiling.  He's lucky, she was able to handle the situation in that way or else the barista will have a taste of the most bitter drink he would encounter in his life.

Non-Verbatim 

Me: Let's go find a polite barista. (Hanap nalang tayo ng mas polite na barista)

PJ and my husband: I guess that's better.(Mabuti pa nga)

Customers asked for something they can pay for. The menu was handed to us and we definitely knew how much it costs and we can assess if we can afford to pay for it or not.

Such a rude barista! 

Christmas Tradition with Friends

Time flies! My friends and I cannot imagine we have to plan for our eat together again. As we get older, our schedules are becoming tighter and tighter. When we were still single and had simple desires, having time for each other was quite easy but then now, it seems like our calendars are full of red marks; trips, business meeting, conferences, trainings and many more. I often say, "let's plan two months ahead". And yes, that's what we did.

Since I am leaving for my hometown the next weekend, and Jel, my other friend has an early Christmas party beforehand, we decided to do a one day get together. PJ and Gael have their time off on weekends therefore it was easy for them to agree. Since my husband is managing a business and even time for me is no longer part of his routine, it was tough to schedule, fortunately, he was able to find someone who will take over for one day at the last minute.

It is also part of the tradition to dress up for this and getting ready is one of the most difficult thing to do for me. With all the shoes and sandals I have, I can't choose which one to use. LOL! A week before that, I asked a shoemaker to make one for me but it was a total failure. I have no choice but to make up my mind with the footwear I have available.

Traveling to the city was tough because of the heavy traffic. This is common during the yuletide season. Batangas to Manila should be just 2 hours but then it took us more then that. We reached the meeting place at 1 in the afternoon. We planned to eat at a buffet restaurant but it's late since it will end at 2 pm at most. We have to decide where to eat asap because all of us were already hungry and the guys, we assume can already punch somebody else because of hunger if we won't hurry up. hahaha!

We decided to eat at Gerry's Grill, my friend's request wanting to eat pork and only pork. Wish granted, I just have to control. However, it was difficult to do so when the food arrived. Instead of getting guilty after that, I decided to just eat 3 spoons of rice so I won't feel bloated.

Some of the foods we ordered

Every time we are together, the conversation will just keep flowing to the point of forgetting the time. Then suddenly we were back to our senses. We decided to have a drink after lunch. We first went to Padis but then we had a bad start with their barista so I told Jel it's better to find another place. Fortunately, I saw Kangaroo Jack and I feel like the ambiance is nice; we settled there.

The inside of Kangaroo Jack bar and restaurant

A tower of San Miguel Beer Lights

After two tower rounds of san miguel beer lights and tons of topics we have talked about, we decided to end the day. My husband and I still needed to travel back to Batangas.  It wasn't a long ride since it was already night time and traffic has subsided. 

We reached home at past 11. It was tiring yet fun and fulfilling. An intellectual conversation with people with the same intelligence level is something definitely worth the time!

Until next time!

CDO-Camiguin: A Self-birthday Gift

It's been a long time since I traveled by myself and frankly, I miss being alone. Because of that, I have asked my husband's permission for me to travel myself on my birthday and I was granted, of course.

October 15, 2014, I headed to Cagayan de Oro. There I met my former roommate who in turn became like my younger sister. I have planned to meet her son who is my godson; first time to meet. Fortunately, they picked me up at the airport and dropped me off at Fem's Vines, where I spent my two nights. After I checked in, I dined out with them. An advance birthday party for me since the next day was my big day.

Although, I had a hard time communicating with the people around, I still enjoyed the silence since I cannot understand them. I felt like I had my own world. LOL!

The next few days of my trip was spent in Camiguin. Meeting people for the first time was a great experience especially if they just made a big impact in my life. I can say, I have no regrets meeting them.

Here's a short video of my trip.  Pardon me, I'm a noob in taking and making it.

Budweiser or Heineken?

Long hours of work deserves a treat by the end of the day.  With my sleeping disorder, any kinds of alcohol would make me sleep after that. Talk about lying down an immediately getting your sleep! Perfect!

I have tried many different kinds of alcohol to see which one will make me fall asleep quickly.  I have tried from whiskey, brandy, red and white wine and of course the very common one, beer. I used to drink San Miguel beer which is very popular local beer in the Philippines; 2 bottles of it was enough. But then as I continue drinking, my alcohol intake was increasing. So decide to change it from time to time. There are times, I go on red wine, then white wine and then beer.

Last night, Thursday, December 4th, I felt like it was a perfect night to drink something. I was exhausted from work, had a terrible time with someone over the phone which made me tremble with anger. I then asked someone to buy a different kind of beer at 7-11 stores. I was brought home a bottle of Budweiser and Heineken. Which one should I drink first? I went for Heineken first.

A bottle of Heineken on my work desk.

How did it taste? Well, there's a little sting, I would say. It got better while it's getting warmer. I prefer drinking a not so cold beer. After this, I decided to finish up my drinking session with a bottle of Budweiser.

A bottle of Budweiser still on my work desk.

It's not my first time to drink this but I would say, it's one of good beers I have drank. I can say this can serve as lady's drink since the taste is not that bitter compared to other beers.

And my Thursday night just like my other Thursday nights when I college ended extremely well.

My anger and frustration was gone while drinking and while I was serenaded by Blake Shelton's songs.

Time to find another brand of alcohol! LOL!

No Worlds to Go

Photo taken by someone with permission

Life has been so tough for her. Just so when she experience a bit of happiness, there comes a huge disaster in her life. She had tried hard to be a good one even to the point of giving up her own desires yet it wasn't enough. She feels empty as time goes by.

When the day she thinks she found a reason to live longer, all of a sudden it was taken away again from her. Her hopes and dreams were all thrown into the void. She had hoped for nothing and now she's left without any reason to exist. Did she make the wrong choice? She doesn't know.

Life seems to have no purpose and now she doesn't know how to get going. It seems she's starting from scratch yet she still can't find how to. She was made whole by someone but then she was shattered all the more by the same person. How can she pick the pieces up?

She's lost.