Of Tech and Food

I've just installed Microsoft Office Enterprise 2007 into my PC and I soo love OneNote! I only installed it because of OneNote, coz frankly, I like the old style of the Excel / Word/ and Powerpoint better. I don't like a lot of drawings or icons since I want to maximize screen space, but that's just me. Our office will be upgrading to the newest Microsoft Products soon coz we have a tie up with them , so I guess the least I can do is try to familiarize myself with the new product.

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I have decided to keep an Online Food / Diet Journal coz it's so much more interesting than just having it all to myself. At least I can pretend that someone will be reading my work and anticipate my day-to-day updates; thus, I owe it to my readers to update.

As you can see, I need to delude myself with this kind of reasoning to be able to stick with my resolutions. Let's see if it works!

Phase 1: Do Away with Unnecessary Foods
With emphasis on free/celebration food, especially on weekends

After initial assessment, it has been found out that I am doing well with eating right on weekdays when I have my baon for lunch and dinner; however, when the weekend comes, that's when the pigging out starts again. Usually, we eat out or there's an occasion serving buffet-style meals so I give my excuses of 'Minsan lang naman 'to eh' or 'Libre kasi eh'. I end up eating so much and feeling crappy afterwards coz I feel uncomfortably stuffed.

That's my goal for now -- for this week. I'll check my progress on Sunday night, Feb 25 and see if I'm able to do as I resolve to.

End Goal: Lose 15 lbs by April 2007.

SideNote: I went to Bohol last Feb 9 - 11 and it was great! I want to do justice to the trip so I'd want to write a nice long entry, which will probably be entitled, Bohol: Better than Boracay! Haha :-p

It’s Still Clark Hatch for the Best Massage!

Aldrich and I had our Valentine celebration today by having lunch at Italianni’s @ Greenbelt and having a massage at The Spa.

The ambiance of The Spa was great, thanks to its well-planned and themed interior design. I had a few problems with service / amenities though, which eventually I learned was because of my own doing (or un-doing). As usual, I was given slippers, a robe and a towel when I got to the Female Powder Room, but the slippers were too small! I didn’t have that problem at Clark Hatch, not even once. I told Aldrich my complaint and he told me that one of The Spa’s code of ethics or something like that is written on the wall saying that the customer should take prerogative in letting the staff know what they want so they can serve the customers better. Well, I didn’t see that anywhere in the walls, and besides, I didn’t plan to go there to read.

So anyway, I noticed that there weren’t any complementary drinks, so I just headed to the shower which again was visually pleasing. This made me happy of course. Hmm, they didn’t have shampoo though, only soap was placed in the dispenser.

Moving on, after the shower, I went to the steam bath for a few minutes. I liked it that they had a clothes rack beside the door to relieve the customer of any excess baggage before going in the steam room. When I was done with that, one of the staff led me to another room to wait for my massage. I was also given tea to drink, but it was ginger! –so I just gave it back hehe. After waiting for a while, we had our massage in the couples room and when the massage was done, we were asked to leave the room at once.

No sleeping time? Oh well.

Clark Hatch lets you sleep in for a few minutes after the massage proper then gives you the stretches when you’re ready. There are also complimentary drinks before and after the massage. And their slippers fit me! Hahaha! The Spa’s massage itself was not bad and almost comparable to Clark Hatch’s but overall, I’d still go with Clark Hatch. They only charge 580 max for Swedish massage with all the amenities, while for a name and the couples’ room with no significant purpose; we had to shell out 1200 each! Sheesh.

Uncontrollable desire

I can’t seem to control myself when it comes to food. I just ate a lot of Krispy Kreme doughnuts today and I just know that I’ll pay for it sooner or later. I wonder if I’ve already acquired diabetes due to the intensity of sugar in the loops? I’m gonna search it up in the internet, “How do you know if you have diabetes?” or “Symptoms of diabetes” in good ‘ol Google.

I came from Manila American Memorial and Cemetery this morning for the second session of the Landscape Photography class. I borrowed my bro’s Canon D400 SLR camera for the class, the only problem was that I didn’t know much of the basics of a manual camera so at one point or another, I ended up switching to auto-mode and getting the results that I wanted, hehehe. So much for photography class! I realized from this experience that I’m not really a hardcore photography buff; I find the technicalities too deep and mind-boggling. I’d rather point and shoot, throw in some effects, then I’m good to go! The one effect that I desire most is a focused subject and a blurry background, is that too much to ask? I’ve also realized that I enjoy taking pictures of food, which, I think, doesn’t go well for my health.

Two of my sisters-in-law have already tried the South Beach diet and both have lost 10 pounds of more in a span of 2 weeks! Unfortunately, I don’t have that much money yet to get into the diet! Php600 a day—that’s totally over my budget. So right now, I’m an aimless wanderer when it comes to losing weight. I don’t eat a lot when I feel like it and I eat a lot when I feel like it— everything is done on a whim.; thus, 0% progress.

I wonder what’s the probability that I’ll lose weight if I go on as I am right now? ManStat class has influenced me to think with statistics and I guess it isn’t so bad after all. From what I see, ManStat is a little bit easier than ManPri because ManStat has empirical basis for its conclusions; while ManPri analysis depends on your familiarity with the field and how one should conduct business there. Maybe there’s also a basis, but I can’t fathom it completely yet.

I’m eating suha right now to fight off the sugar-induced (assumption) itchy toe feeling. My dad swears by it—his blood sugar and cholesterol level has dropped after 5 days of eating the fruit. It doesn’t hurt to try, besides, it tastes good too :)

Icky Sugar Feeling

Dear Blog,

Too much sugar and oily foods leave you feeling crummy after a while. It grossly affects your mood and you can’t seem to focus and do anything right. I hate it when that happens… much like now. Sigh.

I just read a back issue of GQ with Uma Thurman on the cover; this was during the height of Kill Bill and her divorce with director Ethan Hawke. Also in the issue was the case of Opus Dei. I wonder if people who are inclined to S&M would be able to endure ‘the discipline’ more than the others, and well, enjoy it more than others.

I do not fully understand that religious sect, so I shall not judge. One thing I’m sure of, though, is that I’d never become one. Heck, I can’t even get it straight with Catholicisim and Protestantism. What’s with all these religions anyway?

I always seem to screw up my Sundays. I can’t get past the sleeping after lunch part, then eating when my brothers arrive, then watching TV, then trying to do my homework, then talking to Drich before I go to sleep. It’s been two nights in a row that I’ve had ‘impromptu’ sleep. This means that I didn’t mean to sleep, like just lying down to rest or close my eyes, but I fall asleep without consciously meaning to and wake up the next morning. I don’t like it when that happens to me coz it just means that I’m very tired and probably stressed.

Logically, I don’t think I should be stressed, but I guess my upbringing was very stress-free, so now it’s much harder for me to cope with stress.

Icky-sugar feeling is still here, ugh. I need to shake this off so that I can focus on my homework. Mango Terrine in Panciteria Lido did this. Well, I did this to myself coz I was the one who ordered it. Oh well. I should have just stuck with the brewed coffee, it was great already.

Japanese doll wall decorations at the restaurant.

New Year, New Look

I have a new blog look! Yey! Blogger has now tied up with Google and its template is now in XML format, how cool! Now I'll be learning about XML :)

As you've noticed, Britney Spears is gone. I've bidden my farewell to her and have moved over to Angelina Jolie. I think I've outgrown Britney and find her antics quite frivolous. Maybe I've also matured myself which is why Angelina's tough but kind-hearted image has appealed to me. It doesn't hurt that she's also Brad Pitt's partner! I'm so for Brangelina! Sorry Jennifer Aniston, nothing against you.

I'm actually blogging at home right now which is not quite common. I was smitten by the changes that Blogger implemented so I couldn't wait to get home and blog. Adding to the pleasure of blogging is having really nice keyboards to type on. Arvin, the one who picked my name at our office's Grand Kris Kringle, was the one who gave this to me as a Christmas gift (well, it helped that i provided a wishlist).

Another reason why I'm able to blog at home is because classes haven't started yet. My first class will be on Wednesday, followed by the other one on Thursday. I've enrolled in Fundamentals of Writing, a.k.a. Business Writing and Management Statistics (oh no). In Bus. Writing, only my ego is on the line, in ManStat, it's my grades!! Well, classes haven't started yet so I'm hoping for the best :)

Shameless Plug
As I'm typing away right now, I have a Slims Uzap Vibrating Belt strapped around me waist. My brother lent it to us so that we can have a sample. He's selling it for 5K and all my sisters-in-law said that it has to work on me first before they buy one from my brother, haha! This is the second time that I'm gonna use it and so far so good. It has actually improved my circulation because I was able to do some 'movement' afterwards. I'm almost fully sedentary so this belt is perfect for lazy ol' me -- exercise without moving a muscle!

If only I had fast metabolism that would allow me to eat anything I wanted without gaining a pound! Life would be perfect.

On Christmas Day

Something Personal

Sometimes there are things that happen in our lives that we do not understand. In these trying times, i feel like crying and being down.

But things are not the same anymore.

I must be strong, i must be optimistic and i must have faith. I know that God's grace is sufficient for us. He will not give us challenges that we cannot overcome.

Life is not for the faint-hearted...*sigh*

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Where's Christmas?

How come i didn't feel that it's Christmas today? Where's the magic? Where's the awe? It's weird. Is it me? Have i become too logical and numb?

I don't want to become one of those bitter old hags and certainly I don't want to unlearn all the wonderful things that I've discovered in life such as JOUISSANCE (i will forever remember Dr. Leo Garcia) and how about SANTA CLAUS and believing in the goodness of people? Another thing, i musn't succumb to the materialism and consumerism of the holiday season. Christmas should be about love and kindess, we're celebrating Jesus' birth, right?

Have to channel good feelings and lessons from The Nativity story...

Must bring back Christmas spirit!!!

Blog Entry of a SIM Addict

Blog Entry of a SIM Addict

This is the only interesting game I have in my computer and this is what keeps me happy and entertained during the night for the past few days J Oh, the joys of vacation!

If only life and career was as easy as it is in SIMS! Well, it’s only easy in the game because I use the cheats: a loadful of “klapaucius” (a.k.a. rosebuds) and the ambiance is set; basic needs are all fulfilled. Then there’s the career and social life to work for. Climbing the career ladder is the hardest so far for me. It doesn’t seem to end! Both career and social life go hand in hand because you can’t be promoted without having the right number of friends. It’s true, even robbers need a clique. So far, getting to the top is my latest challenge. I have been fast-forwarding through promotions with ‘save and deletes’ and the fast forward button.

The oddest encounter I had while playing the game was the lack of ‘morality’ in the characters. I assumed that when I placed a man and a woman in one house, that they are husband and wife. I even have to work on their relationship for them to be able to sleep in one bed. Then one day, the wife was invited over by a bachelor neighbor. They hit it good and I saw a ‘Propose’ option come up. So I was curious and tried it out… The girl agreed! They got married, moved into the house and her surname was changed! Wow! That was fast! I was just surprised. Why isn’t there a logic in the game that would display a bubble saying, “No, I’m married already” when there’s an crazy bubble saying “I cannot decide on an empty stomach” or “Can’t you see I’m in a terrible mood, your timing stinks” and “Why don’t we do fun things anymore, I want to be able to know that I can have fun here before I consider serious questions”

Well, obviously, it’s all about mood, feeling, emotions. Even two girls can kiss and move in together, not that I have a problem with that, hehe. Basically, everyone can change partners as long as they get on the other’s good side. Heck, I even got a house with a husband and wife and the wife asked a friend to move in. Well, the husband’s a jealous one but it doesn’t stop all three from living together.

Another challenge I’ve encountered but don’t really mind now are the babies! I’m in a stage in my life right now where I’m not super fond of kids that you can’t reason with. So my SIM babies usually get taken by social service! I try and I try but I just can’t seem to get it right. Sometimes, I also get annoyed with the kids. The voice used for kids kinda irritates me, so in one instance, I let a kid drown in the pool. I got an urn and a ghost to boot! I’m not really sure how to make them grow up to be an adult but I vaguely remember that I was able to do this a few years ago….

Waiting for its Arrival

Sometimes i wonder, "kelan kaya ako papayat?" This alone tells of my approach on weight loss. I seem to view it as something that will happen or arrive eventually.

I was just curious... there seems to be no definite answer but, logically speaking, when i finally get my butt working to achieve it.

It's amazing that I find it so hard to lose weight, i dont' seem to have ingrained all those years of dieting, taking whatever weight loss supplements and going to the gym. I just had a very strict instructor, so now that i'm on my own, i just don't have enough drive and consistency to carry on with my previous regimen.

It's complicated.

Talking to Myself

Talking to Myself

This is the last day that the laptop will be with me. I’ve watched 3 rounds of the latest Smallville episodes and I’ve finally finished the entire season with Clark trapped in a hexagonal disk floating in outer space. Oh, what hope that brings to humankind!

I wonder if Smallville will ever transition into the Superman Series. There’s too many gaps like how come Clark doesn’t remember Lois and what happens to Lana and Chloe… stuff like that. But then since it’s Smallville, weird things can always happen like memories being reset and lives being lived again, who knows what fantastic event will happen that will lead to Clark Kent’s destiny?

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Tomorrow will be my last day at work for this week coz I’ll be on leave on the 8th -- having an advanced birthday celebration with Aldrich :) He says we’re going to HEAT @ Edsa Shangri-la hotel for lunch then off to Gateway to watch Devil Wears Prada! Ooh, it is my day coz we’re eating at hotel buffets and watching a chick flick hehehe. Maybe we’ll have Chai Latte at Coffee Bean afterwards too! I just hope that everything turns out well and it will indeed be a relaxing day for me. Sometimes, even if you don’t get tired at work, you get tired when you’re already home. Doesn’t make sense really, but maybe it’s more of a mental fatigue than a physical one.

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Speaking of physical stuff, I still haven’t assembled the Elliptical machine that Drich gave me for my birthday! I’m not very good at assembling stuff and I don’t want to injure myself with my own creation. I’d just get annoyed and lose faith in the machine—that should never happen, coz that exercise machine costs a lot of money!

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Ack! There’s really nothing to blog about! What should I talk about—work? Oh, I was in the office all day, I made spreadsheets, checked spreadsheets, coached people, gave status and attended a call when I was at home. Hmm other than that, I had lunch with Aldrich and we had merienda at Jollibee. Sounds droll? Well, sounds like but it’s not really that bad. If you ask Drich, I even had to consciously draw myself away from the computer coz I wanted to finish the spreadsheet that I was doing. Oh and I get excited every time I get an email – of course it also depends on the content. I actually planned lots of trainings today and I kinda like that. I’ll be giving trainings over lunch for the whole week next week and it makes my blood rush and gets my brain working and my heart pumping. It’s cool to still have that feeling inside you, which just means that there’s still the driving factor that makes you stay and work.

These days, I try to be as positive as possible when it comes to work because a few negative lines is enough to influence my day. I’m very fragile at this period in time as I mentioned in my previous post but hey, I’m fighting back to regain the lost glory – love of work.

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If I speak what I type then I would talk a lot but as it is, I write a lot but do not talk like this very much. I can seem to write and type away even though what I’m discussing doesn’t really merit discussion or does not make any sense at all. See? I’ve filled up three lines!

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I just realized a while ago that there is still some bitterness left in me for my ex. Oh yes, it’s true and I admit to it. I guess I hold on to grudges at times and this is one of those times. I’m not really mad at him or anything, but there’s just a little bit of resentment whenever I am reminded of the past. I guess there’s so much that happened over the five and a half years that I didn’t really have time to pause and contemplate on them. I just stored them in my brain and now, they come back to me on certain occasions and I am able to realize what a fool I was! I was spineless on the times that mattered, tsk tsk tsk. Oh I hear echoes of someone telling me to, “Move On, Grace!” Hahaha! Yes, I’ve moved on, definitely, bad memories just have the tendency of coming back to haunt you!

Back from the Dead

I don’t fancy typing on my desk coz it reminds me of work too much, so I’m breaking my back and typing away on my bed.

Too many things have happened in the past month/ weeks, I can’t remember how long I’ve skipped writing details into my blog...

***First Self-Bought Cellphone***

I’ve already gotten a decent camera phone that I’ve been wishing for for so long and one drawback is that I had to switch to Smart. I’m just used to having my Globe number for 5 or so years now, but hey, if I keep holding on to that number, who knows when I’ll ever upgrade my phone! So it’s a k608i, the one with 3G, HTML browsing, 1.3 MP camera, FM radio and comes with a USB cable and earphones. Those are basically the features that I want in a phone. It just doesn’t have expandable memory, that’s why it’s relatively cheap – free @ Smart’s Plan 800 and barely 8000 pesos in the market.


The first phone I ever bought for myself, wow.


***Happy Birthday***

Aldrich’s birthday has already gone by while mine is just around the corner. I felt that I didn’t do much justice to his birthday celebration but he insists that he already appreciates it very much. Well, we are different people.

Both of us took a half-day leave from work to have lunch at A Veneto Pizzeria in Glorietta. The servings were huge that even the both of us couldn’t finish everything! That’s another first! We had tempura style crab sticks with ranch dressing for appetizer, pesto and garlic with Hungarian sausage pasta and the resto’s special pizza for the main course and no more from A Veneto for dessert. We went to Coffee Bean afterwards to wash down the food and leisurely strolled around the mall after that. We were supposed to watch a movie but there was nothing worth watching at Greenbelt or even elsewhere during that time How sad! To add to that, we actually had to go back to the office afterwards since Aldrich had a call and I had my interview for Post Grad Diploma in Management.

After the call, the interview, and sending status reports, we had dinner at Brothers’ Burgers in Convergys and continued to talk off a storm. That’s what I really like about Aldrich – the fact that I can talk to him about anything and everything under the sun! :) It’s really nice to find someone who you have a genuine connection with, someone who’s not only your boyfriend but your best friend at the same time. Okay, cheesiness stops here, hehehe.

So I felt that I could have done better, you know, with all the history I’ve got in flamboyant and heart warming gifts, why didn’t I pull one out of my sleeve? Maybe being like that is not totally me. Yes, I enjoy doing that, but sometimes, it’s more of self-satisfaction, more of a project than really thinking of what the other wants. There’s been a lot of self-realization for me lately and I still can’t say that I know myself completely. There are still parts of me that need to be ‘baselined’ to further solidify my character. So anyway, I’m chipping in for Aldrich’s most coveted PS2. He’s been using all his falling eyelashes to wish for the PS2 but he never gets it right, hehehe. Well, it’s just an old-wives tale after all.


***Graduate School of Business***

Why DLSU of all schools? It doesn’t really matter to me. Well, aside from being very convenient to go to after work (they have a campus in RCBC Plaza), my brother went to DLSU for masters so somehow, something inside me has equated masterals in business with La Salle. It has a bit more subjects than Ateneo’s GSB, too.

Why not MBA at once? La Salle requires 3 years of work experience before one can enter their MBA program and I don’t want to wait anymore. I’ve originally been planning to take masterls last June for MSIM in Ateneo’s IT Center but changed my mind after feedback from my lead Joyce who took it before. So I’m taking PGDM first – Post Graduate Diploma in Management—which is technically taking the Pre-MBA subjects required during one’s first MBA year. The only difference is that those in the PGDM course cannot skip taking the courses via validation exams, while those in MBA can. There’s also one additional subject – Ethics, Family Life, Work-life balance—which I think I really need to take especially based on the project that I am in at Accenture. Besides, I don’t want to skip any of the subjects either because I can’t say that I’m an expert in any of them!

PGDM Courses:

Information Management ----- Financial Accounting
Business Writing ---- Business Communication
Managerial Statistics ---- Business Economics
Business Law
Management Principles
Ethics, Career and Family Life
IT Workshops

My ultimate goal is to learn more, in order to be more, to do more and to serve more. Well, another goal is to get 85% across all subjects so that I’ll be automatically accepted into MBA the following year J


***Life at Accenture***

Oh it’s a life, sometimes you don’t know if it’s just work or it’s already your life. Another good result of taking up further studies is that I’ll be able to steer myself away from massive overtime work and to also discipline myself into managing my time better. I’d have to get to work at 8am and leave at 5:30pm!

It’s been a rough time at work lately because I now get easily burned out. This is due to massive overtime a few months back, when we had to do overtime every single day and even stay in the office for almost 20 hours!! How crazy is that? Those days are over but I am still feeling the repercussions of the experience. I used to always love going to work and didn’t really mind the overtime, but now, everything’s different. Yes, I can still do overtime but only very minimal. I’d have to psyche myself the day after, oh it’s such a chore. I don’t like this feeling but it’s always creeping up on me. Once bitten, twice shy?

Anyway, this fiscal year, I’m coming back to the Test Team again. I honestly and sincerely hope that my higher ups have learned from the lessons of the past. Please, I don’t want to feel the same resentment like I did before. People at work are my friends but it’s hard not to feel bad when you feel that they are not taking care of your welfare. I’m actually a bit anxious right now because I have this ill feeling that there will still be a lot of overtime and what if my higher ups don’t push back again or do not come up with humane estimates again? I do not know why they do that! I really hate that part which is one of the reasons why I have such a great desire to learn the ropes of management. I don’t believe that what’s happening to our team is a result of good management. Tsk tsk tsk.

There’s really only so much I can do to change the way things are going, the rest, I will leave to God to give me strength to conquer the challenges that lie ahead!

DLSU GSB Entrance Exams

DLSU Graduate School of Business Entrance Exams

I passed the exams!! i passed the exams!! woohoo!! I'm so happy and nervous at the same time because interview's the next step! And it's on August 24, 6:00pm onwards! of all the days to have an interview! kelangan pa birthday ni Drich heheh but he understands! :)

My heart is still racing up until now!! I guessed through the Math stuff again! hahahaha! i am so lucky or better yet God loves me! :)

Woohoo!!