Holy Week 2013

I'm still a Catholic despite whatever conditions I have with my beliefs. I don't know; I just don't consider myself being a drifter in that respect, especially when I still strongly believe in God and not just any other higher being (although I also believe in "the Universe" but that's a completely different thing). It is my comfort zone after all, despite the many times I do not attend mass and all that "Catholic" traditions that are being - I am using this word, loosely, okay? - "dictated" upon us like crossing yourself when you pass by a church and all that jazz. I dunno, I kinda am rebellious when it comes to rules so I wouldn't expect myself to comply. I mean, my daughter's two years old already and here I am, not getting - and planning to be - married anytime soon which probably meant that I will burn in hell to a lot of Filipinos, babydaddy included.

I am spiritual, though, meaning I am in touch with my soul and I still pray and confess to God on my own, without the need for another person to tell me "Hey, you're cleared after performing all of these tasks. The big guy wanted me to tell you".

Anyway, the only point of this post is to say that we - my family - did nothing holy during the Holy Week. We watched Miggy and Laida last Maundy Thursday. We went to Manila Ocean Adventure Good Friday and we went malling to refrain from dying from heat stroke, Black Saturday. Yep, we haven't been to a church since Palm Sunday. We might go to church tomorrow since it is Pasko ng Pagkabuhay anyway but I don't know. We might just go Easter Egg Hunting instead.

We're not very good Catholics, are we?

I have completely forgotten about my obsession with Justin Timberlake...

...'til my very good friend, Kat, posted this video on my Facebook wall. Can I just say that Like I Love You is my all-time favorite (solo) Justin Timberlake song and my favorite versions of JT has got to be the bald Justin Timberlake, way back NSYNC - Gone days and the year when he teamed up with T.I. for Dead and Gone. Yes, I love my JT rugged.

Also love his new single, Suit and Tie. It has an old school RNB feel to it. Maybe Malia's right. RNB might make a comeback after all of the house/party music we've been having these past few years (Chris Brown also released some new songs that sound so RNB, I can probably forgive him for releasing Yeah 3x and let's not forget Ne-Yo's latest album, R.E.D.). Until that day comes, I'll stick to my (over, over, overplayed, not-updated-at-all) playlist.

Woohoo!

Imagine me yelling "Woohoo!" with my right fist pumping; That's how I reacted when I saw the results of the Adidas Energy Boost blog contest in Nuffnang Philippines' Facebook and Twitter accounts:

I know it's no first prize but with the amount of people - actual bloggers - who joined this contest, I am among the top three picks! Woohoo-with-matching-fist-pump-worthy talaga! Plus, it is a writing contest so it somehow gave me the much-needed confidence boost when it comes to my "writing skills".

If you want to read my Adidas Energy Boost blog entry, click here.

Carrie.

There are a lot of qualities about Carrie Bradshaw I would love to have; like how she's actually a legit published writer and "her" interior design instinct (I love her apartment, okay. I can actually live there with Brianna.). I can babble on how she's become some sort of a role model to me - yes, I've been marathon-ing Sex and the City during my alone time - but this is the one thing I love most about her:

Her abs! I would walk around in a tube top all the time, too, if I had her abs. And puking at a party where you see your ex again for the first time after the break-up won't look so sad when you have a body like that.

I wish I were naturally skinny because then I wouldn't have to add that to the 8 million problems I have now.

Now I'm reminded of how flabby I am. Damn it, Patrice!

Short-Term Goals.

I know I said I won't set any goals for this year; that I will just grab any opportunity that will present itself to me but a part of me just can't let the goal-setting thing go, even for just a year. I mean, 3 months into the year and I'm already setting a "short-term" goal for myself to accomplish.

Anyway, I put quotation marks on short-term in the paragraph above because I have a rather unconventional short-term goal. Most people consider getting a car a short-term goal but my idea of a short-term goal is actually buying my very own condominium unit. Preferably a one-bedroom unit somewhere along/near EDSA but a studio apartment works, too.

I don't see myself renting a space unless it's rent-to-own and that is one of the things the babydaddy and I argue about during those rare moments we actually talk. Rent money goes nowhere. At least if I pay for, say, Php10k per month for a one-bedroom unit for a couple number of years, I know that in the end, the place is actually mine.

It's going to take a whole lot of discipline, hardwork and resourcefulness for me to accomplish this goal in 5 years' time but I am currently looking for other sources of income because this writer thing is just enough to cover my and Brianna's basic needs.

Breakout.

I've always been proud of my face and the fact that I don't get awful breakouts even if I forget to wash my face before going to bed like a lot of girls do but today, that confidence has gone down the drain.

Behold, my god-awful forehead:

I have a theory that the powder I'm using now is causing this ugly breakout but now that I think about it, it's probably caused by the late nights and the sudden interest in Raisinets plus it's summertime and add the fact that I've started smoking again...

I am so desperate for a nightout with friend but there's no way in hell I'm going out with these on my forehead...

Work-from-home moms, I need help.

People who work from home know all the perks: no need to wake up early/specific time to get ready and catch the shuttle/avoid the morning/after work traffic, free food, comfortable workplace, etc. It's the ideal work situation, really, because if you land the perfect job, you can earn up to Php80,000 per month. So, what is it am I complaining about?

Well, I'm not really complaining. It's more of acknowledging the problem? (Palusot) Anyway, it's about how I work full-time but at the same time, I need to fulfill my duties as a full-time, breastfeeding mom. I have a beautiful 2-year old daughter who I love dearly but cannot wean from feeding from me. It's my fault, after all. I wanted to feed her exclusively during her first year and didn't teach her after her 1st birthday. Anyway, that's not the problem.

The problem is I get burnt out probably from breastfeeding her and guiding her through her terrible two's and this insane heat the country's going through. Add the personal problems I have been pondering on for a couple of months now and you've got Monster Mom. I don't know how to contain my anger and I sometimes yell at her when she does something wrong. I know I'm making some moms and early childhood specialists cringe with my reactions but when I'm filled to brim, I get so carried away by the stress that I cannot stop myself from yelling.

I do go out every once in a while to grab a few drinks and catch up with friends but that doesn't seem to help. I mean, it does for a day or two but after that, I go back to my grumpy mommy self. Work-from-home moms, I need your suggestions. How do you guys make it work? 'Cause I really want to live up to the title "work-from-home supermom" I bestowed upon myself.

Great question.

"In love relationships, there is a fine line between pleasure and pain. In fact, it's a common belief that a relationship without pain is a relationship not worth having. To some, pain implies growth. But how do we know when the growing pains stop and the pain pains take over? Are we masochists or optimists if we continue to walk that fine line? When it comes to relationships, how do you know when enough is enough?"

- Carrie Bradshaw, Sex and the City Season 2, Episode 12

I don't know if she meant it the way I mean it but I know how she feels.

I want a new place where I can work. Home's fine but I want a different view. I've always wanted a different view since I decided to work from home. Ironic, I know, but home gets tiring after a couple of weeks. I mean, I already live here...

Shet, labo.

Nike Training Center App

In my attempt to lose weight and achieve a Victoria Secret Fashion Show-worthy body this year, I've downloaded the Nike Training Center App a few weeks ago but haven't gotten around to using it. I finally decided to give it a try this morning and I died after the first 20 minutes of the first beginner's workout. I didn't expect it to be that intense since it was for beginners but in fairness to them, they put "4-5 workouts a month" there and I workout -5 to 0 times a month so I was kinda asking for it.

The routine was simple enough: jogging for a couple of minutes, a few squats here and there plus a few seconds of push-ups but for a total newbie like me, the routine was a lot. The last time I did squats was in 6th grade, when we were training for volleyball (I was sort of part of the varsity team of our humble little school) and the last time I did push-ups was never so imagine my face while trying to pull off these exercises. I am literally sweating just by thinking about it. (Okay, the sweating might be caused by this insane heat the Philippines is experiencing now but it adds up to the drama, doesn't it?)

Tomorrow, I will be going at it again and I'm hoping that I won't shake while trying to squat for two minutes and that I actually get back up when I do push-ups.

What a great day!

Despite the semi-bad vibes I sent out earlier today, God and the universe decided to give me a little reassurance that I am doing what I am supposed to be doing and that I'm pretty good at it:

Thank you, God and the universe! The best kayo! <3 p="">

Offended.

I've received feedback from my current client regarding one article I wrote and she said it had a lot of errors. When I saw the "edited version" of my article, I can't help but feel offended. I understand their need to replace business words here and there since, to be honest, I don't understand half the terms I was writing about but actually changing the tone of my article and my approach to the topic is a different story.

It's not that I cannot take criticisms gracefully; I just got offended, that's all. Pagbalik ba naman sakin ng article ko, di ko na mamukhaan e...

#66. I haven't asked anyone out on a date except my super close friends and those guys I've actually had a relationship with.

That's the reason why even if I'm super sure I want to get to know you and hangout out with you, I haven't done anything about it. I mean, how do I even bring it up? We don't even talk on a regular basis.

Rated (S)PG.

It has been a long, long, LONG while since I've actually kissed someone - which is really sad if you think about it 'cause I'm supposedly in a relationship - and I don't know if I still know how to do it and do it good. I mean, I was pretty confident with my "style" but now, I might be really rusty because of this forced hiatus.

I hate doubting myself over something I know I'm good at.

The bigger problem is how I'm doubting my "skills" under the sack. This is not good. At all.

Taking this writing thing seriously.

This morning, I realized that if I wanted to take this writing thing seriously since it's one of the most convenient jobs ever - and not to mention I love doing it and blabbering on even if nobody's listening/reading/giving a damn - I had to sell myself like other businesses do. Apart from asking friends to recommend me to people they know, I thought I needed to produce business cards, too, so that people I do not know and have no connection to will hear of my services.

Here are some designs I made in Phoster (I don't know how to use Adobe Photoshop, okay?). Which one should I go with?

I know, I know. The landscape ones aren't the actual business card size but I had to make do with what Phoster has. And I don't know how to remove the icons at the bottom of the pink design so just pretend it's not there.

I wanted a clean, fuss-free card so I ended up with these three designs/templates. Personally like the pink and the last one though I don't know why I put an ampersand there.

I'm also thinking of removing the URL of my blog in the contact details because to be honest, this isn't a place where they can find something that can actually help them with any problem they're having, since that's what blog apparently is for now.

So, what do you think?

I needed something to wake me up...

...when Kean Cipriano posted this on his Instagram account:

It sure woke me up! I mean look at that pretty face and the arms and the shoulders and - ugh - those lips! I couldn't care less about the pretty girl beside him whilst on a bed, I just - whew! - I just want him. Now.

Edit: This photo was taken when they taped Banana Nite that is why I don't care who the girl is. If this were some random hook-up, I'd be, first, super pissed that he had to post a photo of the girl. Second, I'd feel bad for the girl 'cause everyone would know she slept with him... But it's not.

"Universe, I ask you to grant me patience to deal with people better and strength to let them go when I absolutely have to."

-Jill Cruz, March 5, 2013

Favorite Spongebob bit.

Things are starting to get better.

Last month was definitely not a good month for me but I think March will be much much better. For one, I've finally landed a full-time online gig that pays better than most of the jobs I've had before and the team I am currently a part of is really friendly.

I'm not supposed to be blogging because it's "office" hours but the person who will be giving us our orientation still hasn't gotten back from her breakfast break (eh?).

Next up: THAT date/hangout I've been looking forward to since November last year.