Friday's 10 Happy Things

✱ Slow RTO days

Like I said in my previous post, I enjoyed my time alone this Monday! I think I love walking around, but slowly haha

✱ Mama's birthday!

Went to celebrate mama's birthday in advance on Sunday. Since she can't go out yet we just ordered in food and I bought her flowers ♥️ 

✱ Beautiful flowers

I think it's the first time I bought someone flowers myself. My sister usually buys for us then I just chip in. But on Sunday after church I decided to get mama a small bouquet, after checking the price of course! Haha I didn't expect flowers to be this expensive? I think it's because I bought at Designer Blooms so it's definitely more expensive hehe Terai usually buys flowers in the market where it's 3x cheaper haha I'm very happy though because it's super beautiful and mama loved it!

✱ Team dinner

Came to the office again on Wednesday to meet with the team. I kinda looks forward to days like this where I can meet the rest of the team. Our manager brought food for everyone, we had games, and had fun!

✱ New personal Bible

On ate RJ's suggestion, I bought a personal Bible. I did have a personal Bible before but that was so long ago and I didn't get to really read it that much. I spent so much time choosing which Bible to get because there are so many pretty options right now. I know I want to get a CSB version because it's midway between word-for-word and thought-for-thought translation which makes a good balance between accuracy and readability. I bought this particular one because it's pretty haha. Hope to be able to read it a lot! 🙏

✱ Cure Aqua Gel

I recently discovered Cure Natural Aqua Gel from someone I follow on Instagram and holey moley it's instantly the best exfoliator out there! It doesn't have abrasive microbeads. It's just some form of hydrogenized water that instantly turns dirt on your skin into balls of skin cells that like libag but white. It's so cool. I couldn't believe it at first so I did 2 rounds to test if it's just the product that's clustering like that but wow the 2nd round didn't yield much libag unlike the first round so I was convinced. It also made my skin feel very smooth and clean. I love how it's so gentle yet super effective! 

✱ Bible study with ate RJ ☺️

Had Bible study earlier this afternoon despite both of us feeling sick from our allergies. We just did a recap of our previous sessions, discussed the Best Decision booklet and prayed. 

✱ Manam dinner ♥️

Ordered Manam for dinner because we didn't do the grocery this week and I'm too lazy to cook!

✱ Saitama mousepad haha

Bought a cute mousepad for Jec and I haha

✱ Beautiful sky earlier

Just marveled at the beautiful sky earlier after praying.

Friday's 10 Happy Things

✱ Enjoying my macbook! Love the audio. Still getting used to the interface but so far so good. Also, the battery life is superb!

✱ Had Bible study earlier with sis RJ. It was just the two of us but I'm very thankful for her. 

✱ I'm 72kgs now, from 76 last November. I stopped working out cos I got lazy, but I'm doing intermittent fasting with my husband and it's been quite effective.

✱ Been shopping the past few weeks. Our bonuses came in this month so I feel rich right now. Key word: right now haha. Got new sheets, pillow covers, dish rack, organizers, mats, decor, etc. from Nitori and Ikea.

✱ Restarting my skincare routine with Laneige. It's been effective for me before, but I couldn't sustain it cos it was so expensive for me that time. That was 6 years ago. Now I think I can afford it. But it still comes down to discipline though. My thing about skincare routines is that I can only do it at night, but I'm hesitant to cos I want to cuddle with my husband before going to bed and I'm afraid all the product will just be wiped off haha.

✱ Reinstated our Vitality policies after learning from a friend that it boosts our ACP100's coverage by 250k. And my dad said it was okay to not pay it because we're not using it anyway! Hay! Haha

✱ Happy that once a year I get to buy off almost all of the things I want without worry because #bonus haha. Most of the stuff in my cart are 1k upwards and it's difficult to splurge on them every swelday kasi mahal! haha

✱ More on my macbook. I bought a 1TB version and I'm just happy that I have finally transferred product review footage from my phone and ipad, freeing up a loooot of storage on my mobile and tablet. I was finally able to update their software lol. I moved like 50GB worth of videos. I'm so behind my product reviews!

✱ I drew a bit today! I was listening to some Ghibli lofi BGM which had really cute visuals so I decided to copy from it, not realizing they were AI generated lol. I haven't drawn in a while so this is as good as its gets haha

✱ Cooked buffalo chicken thighs tonight!

Happy Weekend!

Friday's 10 Happy Things + a Wishlist 😄

I really wanted to be productive at work today but I can't stop looking at Shopee lol so maybe I'll just list down a Christmas wishlist or something...

1. New backpack. I realized that my fake Doughnut has a low quality zipper and while it isn't broken yet I don't like how it feels unzipping it. It's not smooth, like it's gonna get caught at random. Also it feels weird owning a fake one when I've had two original Doughnuts. It's just that the original one is a bit bigger and has bulkier straps which doesn't look good on me. Hay. Oh well. Off to search for a new one!

2. TV speakers. Not really a soundbar but a decent external speaker that can be connected via aux cable just like our current one, the Edifier MP260. Thing is, it broke on us in less than a year so we're hesistant to have the same model again. Jeckie got it as a gift last year. I love it though, it's perfect and doesn't need to be turned on separately like most soundbars. But I think that's why it broke so soon. It's always on! I know there's gotta be a solution to this. Need to look into soundbar technology. I'm sure there's like a feature that turns the soundbar on and off along with the TV.

3. Dymo label maker. Just the manual one cos it's cute and doesn't need charging! 😄

🎊 On to the happy things

1. It's day 5 of going to the gym daily! I'm not seeing anything significant in terms of my size haha but it feels good to be sweating every day. I hope I don't jinx it specially that it's the weekend and we're normally out and about but what's 1 hour of my time before we head out for stuff right? 

2. I'm making progress in this new project that was assigned to me recently. Much as I'd like to postpone this for next year, a new project like this kinda puts me in the zone hehe

3. My sister has FINALLY resigned from her job that's been stressing her out big time ever since it started. Happy for her! Also, she's broken up with her boyfriend of 2 months haha. Good riddance I'd say, they don't align in values AT ALL, which is basic for any relationship to thrive, even friendships. ETA: Okay I just learned that they've gotten back together. Hope they could work on their relationship better. 

4. I don't remember jotting this down but I just started attending church again. I learned that there's CCF BGC which is an easy 15 min drive from home so I commited to attending the 10:30 AM service even though it's deathly early for me haha. So far so good. Let's see where this takes me on my quest to rediscovering Christianty.

5. Behrouz dinner! It's been a while since we ordered from them and I love how they're still very responsive despite not being on Grab! 💖

6. Lots of Japanese snacks from kuya Julian!

7. I just made significant progress on my new project. Yeah, the gap between item #2 and this one is like 6 hours hahaha I find it hard to blog in just a single session now, my mind is aaaaaalways drifting somewhere.

8. Koomi is a good boy tonight who finished all of his food!

9. Booked a sofa cleaning service for tomorrow. Looking forward to it. Finally getting our sofa shampooed after one year! It's disgusting! 

10. I'M OFFICIALLY ON VACATION! But will have to manually run a job on January 1 lol. If I get some free time I'll work on publishing it and putting it on a schedule. But for now, HAPPY HOLIDAAAYS!! 🎊

11. Additional happy points I'm just so delighted to be able to use emojis in my post now especially that it's very easy to pull up the emoji menu from the keyboard (win + dot)! 

Friday's 10 Happy Things

I was contemplating on whether or not to make a gratitude post this week because I've been feeling largely sad for the most part. But then I realized it's the perfect time to count my blessings haha

1. Our new rice cooker has arrived! Upgraded our 7 year old mechanical rice cooker to a digital one from Tefal that has exciting options like brown rice and congee! Best part is the non-stick pot!

2. Always thankful for my coffee time. Whether it be during dessert or while working. 💖

3. That we may not need to raise 2 million for my mom's operation after all. Maybe 1 million na lang lol still a large sum but 2m is just too big. I think she's semi-convinced to get an open heart surgery instead because her doctor says there are more experts in that field compared to TAVI.

4. Frankie's dinner and cheesecake!

5. Happy to have found 2 workouts I can follow tomorrow (fingers crossed).

6. Finally completed my self evaluation for the year. And provided feedback to those who requested for mine.

7. Happy to have successfully supported 2 automation issues this week without having to raise to our architect. The first one was a quick fix that only need a job refresh. And the other one was due to a user error that I fixed by updating the ticket and re-running the job.

8. Also happy to have FINALLY provided an update to this one task I was too lazy to work on since last week. Had an issue trying to setup the automated report using Jay's tool because I forgot what arguments to use for adhoc running. But now I'm slowly getting the hang of it and even made a confluence page for it so I don't get lost once he's gone! He's resigning by the way! 😔

9. Happy that I'm finally feeling better. Though now it's Jeckie that's sick. At least we're not both sick at the same time hehe.

10. Last but not the least, swelday! Off to paying more credit card debt 🤣 💖

Life Lately - so much to pray for

🖥️ My work is in all sorts of disarray right now. I have so many things to work on. I have a list of them but I always end up to too tired and lazy to do anything. I have two weeks to work on them so I can enjoy my Christmas vacation! Aja! 

🫠 Thursday I had my PT session with Coach Nick. I was not able to finish all of the workouts he gave me because I was too full lol. I ate too close to my schedule so my body was struggling to give me energy while digesting the burger I ate for lunch lol. Also I think he progressed me this time. All the leg exercises I did was with 2x 20lbs weights and it was exhausting. My single leg balance still needs a lot of work but I can feel my quads improving. It's just that it's the only exercise I had this week so I was too exhausted after the sesh. We ended 15 minutes early cos my legs are literally shaking haha. Anyway, still thankful cos that's 1 excercise point this week hehe

🙏 Praying for healing for the entire family. My mom has aortic valve stenosis. Her valve is too narrow for blood to pass through, causing her heart to pump harder. According to her doctor her options are:

1. a heart valve replacement requiring an open heart surgery; 
2. TAVI or TAVR (transcatheter aortic valve implantation/replacement) I haven't really confirmed with them but my sister mentioned a transcatheter implant procedure that's possibly less invasive than an open heart surgery.
3. Live with it. Manage her triggers basically. She'd probably have a year left to live though if this were the case.

✨ Options 1 and 2 will cost millions; around 2 million pesos. Which we don't have. So while I'm praying for healing, I'm praying more for financial provision because we don't have that kind of money saved. No one in our family is rich enough to shoulder that. Might need to sell their property just to afford an operation. And for how long? How much more time with my mother will 2 million pesos give me? 10 years? I don't know.

✨ My husband also has a health concern. There was a lump on his neck that wasn't there before. He noticed it one time on one of my vlogs. He was drinking water and noticed his adam's apple is too big. His APE confirmed an anterior neck mass that needs to be checked. An ultrasound confirmed the lumps and the sizes. A biopsy will confirm if it's congenital, but we have yet to see the results. If it is congenital then his HMO will not be able to cover the surgery to remove it so haaay gastos nanaman. I don't know how much that costs but we certainly don't have enough saved for an operation, however minor.

🙏 Oh well. This is the reason why I started attending church again. There are just some things you don't have any control over which will lead you to pray. Health is one of those things. And my personal yearning to seek the Lord more properly this time. The good thing about attending church is that it forces me to wake up early on Sunday haha.

☺️ Alright happy weekend!

Friday’s Happy Things

Know that this is very hard to do for me to do right now because I’ve been feeling largely uncertain about my job position. But let’s try…

✱ I got my Bodum tumbler back! When I went back for it I didn’t bother checking at Watsons because I was so sure I left it at the bathroom before I went to buy something at Watsons. Turns out I actually left it at Watsons and they kept it. I was able to recover it yesterday. Thank you Watsons! It’s honestly the last place I’d check as I was so consumed with my false memory.

Lesson learned for me here is to leave no stone unturned. Same thing happened when I lost my wedding ring one time. We were eating at Poco Deli when I realized my finger was empty. I looked everywhere but Poco Deli because I thought it was already gone before we started eating. Never did I think to find it there. Our memories are fragile and unreliable.

✱ Enjoyed celebrating my mother in law’s 60th birthday at Bataan. Bataan nga ba? Cos we kept driving to Subic to eat, even got lost there on the way home hunting down a restaurant lol. Despite staying at a crappy resort, I had loads of fun with the family and the view was utterly breathtaking. It’s really about the company.

✱ I managed to swim earlier despite feeling really sleepy and wheezy. Lap pool was full so I swam in the kidney pool which wasn’t so bad except that I don’t know its length so my swim data was probably inaccurate. Still a great 45 minute workout.

✱ I have new a Youtube review! Check it out! Finally, after a year. I guess I’m back to uploading review videos. I’ve been too lazy to work on them but I also need to free up space in my phone. So yeah, let’s do this!

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I was supposed to list down 10 things but I coudn’t so I just renamed the title to Friday’s Happy Things but honestly I could easily list 10 unhappy things cos I feel mostly sad right now. Can I just do that? It’s easier to let it out this way

1. I’m not losing weight. We’re on week 3 of dieting and the scale won’t budge despite me eating less. My husband has already lost 6kgs.
2. Like I said at the start I’m feeling uncertain about my work because I feel like my skills aren’t needed anymore. And I have nothing else to offer.
3. I’m too lazy to read
4. I’m too lazy to work
5. I’m too lazy to workout
6. I’m too lazy to learn piano
7. I’m too lazy to make art
8. And I can’t get my knee to recover fully. It’s grown scar tissue already that’s gonna be difficult to break unless I opt for another procedure.

I’m just too lazy nowadays. I just wanna do nothing. Especially in this weather.

Oh, I guess it’s a good thing that I can’t find 10 unhappy things! 😅

Celebrating my unemployment

I don't really know how to write this post but I just have to say last week was one of the most memorable weeks of my life as I spent my last day at the firm "partying" with my officemates and spending the rest of the week in Baguio (our favorite place) to rest, mostly eat, in celebration of my unemployment haha.

Here's my Weekly Monotony!

✱ Last daaaayyy

August 23, 2022! Booked the lifestyle room and enjoyed the whole night just eating, singing, and occassionally attending to issues hahaha last day na nga eh may humahabol pa. I have the sweetest teammates, they really took note of my favorite foods and endeavored to have them available for our small salu-salo! I had planned to order Frankie's for everyone but the weather was so bad that day and most of the stores closed early. Even BPI closed early and I was supposed to run an errand with them argh. In the end I got wings from Buffalo Wild Wings haha sarap naman!

Anyway. Sobrang natouch ako. My friends got me cheesecake, Mama Lou's pizza, Amber's spaghetti and palabok, and mooore! Huhu sobrang daming food. Red and Henry gifted me a new phone case too huhu! And Camille got me SAMOSAS kami lang mahilig sa Indian food HAHAHA it was so good I hope more people would appreciate Indian food it's THE BEST!!!

White & Case will always have a special place in my heart. It's the first time I felt this comfortable in a company. Like I said, I could retire here. I really appreciate this day a lot, the effort it took for my friends to come in despite the stormy weather! The fooooood and the overall thoughfulness. I will never forget you guuuysss huhu. We're not complete in this pic but you're all in my heaaart hihi ♥

It was a delight having to experience our lifestyle room din! The Grand Videoke HD is the bomb! The sound system is perfect, we have mic stands, a big ass TV, there's even a PS5 but we just really want to sing hahahaha I love it! ♥

But all things must come to an end. After surrendering my stuff napaisip ako kung tama ba tong desisyon ko hahaha oh well, too late! HAHAHA

✱ Baguiooooooo

We love Baguio so much we keep coming back. The last time we went there we stayed a week at an AirBnb and tried to live "locally" as in not like a tourist. We bought groceries, I cooked every day, and worked like usual. In the afternoon before my shift starts we go out and explore, one spot a day, then come home right before it rains. Okay we did touristy stuff din pala haha. But everything worked within our schedule so it was perfect.

✱ Giraffe Boutique Hotel

This time is different. We booked at a hotel and just planned to eat all day everyday lol. At least I did. Jeckie went to an MMA gym haha. We've been eyeing The Manor at CJH but it just never went within our budget haha maybe next time. We stayed at Giraffe Boutique Hotel through a friend's reco and we loved it! I'll give it an 8/10.

We got a Superior Room that's 3.5k per night so not bad! It's beautiful, spacious, I love the colors. Just look at this ♥

I specifically requested for a room with a lot of windows but I didn't realize it meant getting the corner room that's right beside the road and the outdoor garden. You know what that means. Noise! Our first night was terrible because it was very noisy outside, if it's not the dogs barking, it's cats literally fucking around. And very early in the morning as the restaurant kitchen bustles I could've cried at the painful sound of cutleries clanking and of people talking and going about. We also had a cockroach incident. Could've soundproofed the room better but I don't really know what that entails. 

Besides the noise, privacy was also an issue. I requested for windows because I wanted better lighting and ventilation but I didn't realize we were facing a very busy part of the hotel and people kept walking past haha. In the end we had to keep the curtains down the entire time. So much for the view right.

But that's just on the first night. The succeeding nights were better, it's not always noisy and even when the curtains are drawn it's always cold hehe. So yeah, despite the noise and privacy issues, overall we stll had a great stay. Will write in detail on a separate blog post. :)

✱ Mangiamo Ristorante Baguio

I think the best part of the hotel is their restaurant, Mangiamo. It means "let's eat" in Italian ♥ 

If you are to stay in Baguio, you must try dining at Mangiamo. They serve delicious authentic Italian food that is so much worth every penny. Probably the best Italian we've tried. The chef is Italian too. I think we ate here two or three times. I recommend the following: 

• Mangiamo pizza - so freaking good, has truffle and ham, best pizza ever!!!
• Tagliatelle w/ truffle cream sauce - if you love truffle, this is a must!!! It's not on the menu but is usually on the board
• Mushroom soup - okay we love mushrooms. This is so legit, filled with wild mushrooms, not salty, not too creamy just pure mushroom soup goodness. 
• Caesar salad - if you love a garlicky caesar dressing this is lovely 
• Tiramisu - argh just typing it down makes me crave for it
• Apple pie ala mode - just the right serving! Perfect to cap off your meal 
• Prosciutto crudo e melone (parma ham and melon) - my goodness this is delicious! We loved prosciutto wraped mango when we we first tried one in Bora, but wow I love this melon one more! ♥

Now that I've started with the restaurant roll call, next up!

✱ Visco's

Everybody loves Visco's strawberry shortcake but have you tried their restaurant offerings? It's delicious!!! Especially their fried chicken. Reasonably priced too. 

I got the original fried chicken and Jeckie got the honey mustard one. We both enjoyed it. The chicken actually reminds me of Ellen's fried chicken in UPLB. And the gravy is buttery. Love it! ALSO, the ceasar salad on the side is delicious. Must try!

✱ Overtones Ito Sushi Bar & Japanese Restaurant 

Aaahh Jeckie's friend recommended this to us. Like Vizco's, you can find this along Session Rd., between Sizzling Plate and Pizza Volante. There's a small entrance there that's easy to miss because it's just a narrow entrance that leads to a flight of stairs. So don't miss it! 

I ordered Chirashidon, a favorite, and it's delicious! There's salmon, mackerel, octopus, UNI, tamago, crabsticks, etc., and lots of rice I couldn't finish. Besides the uni I also loved the squid wrapped nori. Super delicious! Jeckie got the wagyu sirloin. The cut was pretty thin so for medium rare it quickly turned to well done. So maybe next time get it rare? Teriyaki sauce is delicious! My iced mocha too!

There weren't a lot of people dining in so I'd say this one's a bit underrated. It's also a bit pricey for something along Session Rd. hehe

✱ Grumpy Joe

We though we're being careful with our restaurant choices so we went with one that's highly recommended by the internet. There was a line when we got there. We were 9th. We looked at the menu and everything looked promising...

... until my first order came. The corn chowder soup. It doesn't look too bad but the mound of grated cheese on top made me wonder, they use this type of cheese? I mean for a restaurant of this level I was hoping they'd opt for something more refined. Did we just fall into the hype?

Uhh yeah. Cos everything that was served after was underwhelming. The ony thing overwhelming is the serving size.

• Corn chowder soup - it was okay for 85 pesos but the mound of quickmelt was a bad precedent of what's to come
• Spicy buffalo wings - not spicy, not buffalo. Had we ordered barbecue glazed chicken wings we would've enjoyed this, but we didn't so it turned out disappointing. 
• Grumpy Joe special burger - oh this one will make you grumpy. So here's a burger, with a thin and dry patty, a pineapple slice that's thicker than said patty, ultra thin pickles, some cucumber slices, and caramelized onions siting right in the middle of the pineapple slice. There's also lettuce and a slice of fake cheese. Sauce? Maybe, I couldn't sense any. Did Joe make this when he's mad? Cos it shows. It's an abhorrent attempt at an aloha burger. Jollibee is laughing its ass out. The fries on the side however, tastes great! 
• Greek salad was so so, I don't get why this is marked a best seller
• Five cheese pizza - this was supposed to be a bestseller but the moment I tasted quickmelt cheesefood (apparently they use Eden) in there, I was defeated. I mean it tastes okay. But it's not 5 cheese delicious. Eden cheese isn't even real cheese. Yellowcab's 4 Cheese is much better. 

So much for the hype. I think this is okay for big families with kids in tow. Jeckie says it's elevated school canteen food. Harsh but totally apt. I think kids would love the food here. But foodies? Beware. 

✱ Oh My Gulay

Hmm. Located along Session Road at La Azotea Building, you have to climb 6 flights of stairs in order to get into the restaurant. It's on the 5th floor but there's another flight when you get to the restaurant entrance so yeah, siguradong gutom na gutom ka na pagdating mo sa taas haha. Obviously this is not for the physically challenged. The place is a visual feast. A museum slash nature sanctuary. It's like a mini Tam-awan Village! They serve vegetarian food so I know not to expect too much. 

We both got sisig. Which I regret. Jeckie seemed to love it. But to me it's just tastes like scrambled eggs. The sliders were disappointing too. Patty too dry. Remind us to stick to originally vegetarian dishes next time like eggplant lasagna, vegetables samosas, salads, humus, etc, and not converted meat dishes because I swear, they never come out as good.

I ordered pumpkin soup but it took too long to come out so I just cancelled it. I also ordered mango crepe but they gave out peach crepe so I had it remade. They must've rushed my order because the crepe was still hot when they served it. Consequently the mangoes got warm so it's not a good experience. They probably thought to compensate by drizzling extra chocolate syrup but heck they went overboard haha.

I'm not happy with this experience but I'm willing to try again, definitely with a different dish. 

✱ Lemon & Olives Greek Taverna

Finally got to try this! I'll tell you right now, this one's worth the hype unlike Grumpy Joe haha.

We ordered special lamb chops for two which came with L&O Salad, Poikilia, and lemon pilaf rice. Ordered hummus, plain yogurt drinks, and I got me some Turkish coffee (which I realized isn't my cup of tea lol).

Just looking at the photos already makes me wanna come back! 

• L&O Salad - absolutely delicious. Everything was balanced. I loved the peaches. It reminded me of Go Salad's Sweet Caroline except they use honey lemon vinagraitte instead of honey balsamic. It's sweet and tangy and my goodness I could eat this all day.
• Lamb chops - lamb is an acquired taste. I had to eat a lot of lamb dishes to realize how delicious it it. And this one is great.
• Hummus - simple, savory, creamy, garlicky, tangy. It's so balanced I love it.
• Poikilia - an appetizer plate. There's pita bites, sausages, and cheese sticks. I love this spread. Everything tastes good, specially the cheeese!!!

Aaaand that's it for my Baguio food diaries! I already wanna go back cos there's still so much we wanna try! Despite Grumpy Joe haha, I think this is still one of my favorite vacations! 

I'll be starting with my new job on Thursday so wish me luck! ♥

Everything hurts

I'm frustrated about a lot of things lately...

★ ATRAM / SeedBoxPH won't send my COP/COR emails

I didn't know ATRAM has a notoriously unreliable email notification system and it sucks that I have to message them every fucking time just to ask for my order confirmation. It's disappointing because I thought SeedBox PH has a better system than GInvest since it's linked to ATRAM (being their official digital investment platform) but heck at least GInvest provides more transaction information on the app. If only they had more products I wouldn't need to pull out from there.

★ Apple taking a while updating my pencil's purchase date

My request has been forwarded to two teams so far as they can't figure out what purchase date to use in my case.  The receipt I got shows the date in this format: MM/dd/YY and they can't decide whether I got the item on October 9 or September 10 lol. I'm perplexed that this is an issue and I wonder why they can't just take my word for it, which is October 9. If anything I don't care what they put as long I get my warranty, one month lang naman difference argh.

★ Can't decide on my leaves

I wanted to go on a week long vacation for my birthday but I know my remaining leave credits won't cover it. There were a couple of changes for my birthday celebration. I don't want to tell this blog cos I know it will jinx it lol just like it did the last time I mentioned it. So heck, not sharing anything specific so hopefully whatever bad juju this blog has can leave me alone.

★ Currently reading The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

Hopefully I get to finish the book by this month. I'm one book short of completing my Goodreads 2021 challenge, and this highly acclaimed novel is something I've been wanting to read for so long. I bought a physical copy years ago, and that is currently browning and foxing in a cart somewhere here. I'm reading on my Kindle now and I can't say I'm that enthralled by it. Anyway. 

★ Everything hurts

There's a gym that opened up at SM Light which has a badminton court. Despite the low ceiling, it's a delightful discovery for Jeckie and I as we've been hoping for a court to open up nearby. We've been casually cursing the Ethan Allen showroom everytime we pass by it in hopes it would go back to its previous form (a badminton court) lol, but that's just wishful thinking. One court with a low ceiling is good enough. Thank you Lord!

We played with a couple of friends yesterday and maaan was it a real workout! It's my first real workout since we went on a diet. My entire body hurts right now but I'm happy to report that my knee doesn't seem to be that traumatized anymore. I've been avoiding physical strain on my knees for more than a year now, even though I know I'm already fully healed. I learned that in order to regain normal functioning I have to move it like usual so it doesn't get stuck in a cautious state. Yikes. To be honest, I still can't step in the car the normal way because I'm afraid of twisting my knee, but I'll try hehe.

My waist, back, arms, thighs, and calves are terribly hurting right now. I didn't know playing badminton could be a full body workout. I was so dead beat last night that I almost slept through my entire shift. Shhhh

★ Need to work on my airfyer review

But really, I don't even know now. I need to cover a lot of things with our Philips airfyrer in order to make a valuable review but it's such a tedious thing to write and record haha. We'll see, we'll see, I need to get this out so I could work on my next review (my mechanical keyboard).

★ Still not on track with my work deliverables

I have KTs and UAT fixes that are long overdue. If this continues I'll be escalated and fired. Char. Hopefully not. Okay fine let's work.

What's up in bullets

✱ Work. Hay. I'm feeling super duper tired from work. There's just too many things to do and they're piling up uncontrollably on my lap! I can't seem to be able to finish a project lately and it feels bad. Well, I haven't been feeling so good about work lately and it's already feedback season haaay. :(

✱ Three weeks ago my dad and sister tested positive for covid so they had to quarantine themselves. My parents are both fully vaccinated already but my sister hasn't had a single shot yet. Thank God it's only mild. My dad experienced fever, cough, colds, loss of taste and smell. My sister had the same symptoms plus rashes which made everyone panic. The doctor said the rashes are possibly an immune response and should go away as they go on with the treatment. And it sure did. Now they're doing okay. My sister is back to work (wfh) but they're still not listed as fully recovered. 

A bunch of things that made me happy lately

✱ This black silicon Kindle case I got form Lazada. It took 10 days to get delivered but it's worth it cos it's so cute specially with my latte popsocket on!

✱ Our airfryer! My husband gifted me an airfryer and I'm loving it! Thought it would be helpful for eating healthy but as it turns I'm cooking a lot more now cos it's more convenient, plus I can bake now too so there goes the mandatory muffin and cakes being added to our "healthy" diet haha. 

I'll probably do a Youtube review someday, when I've gotten the hang of it. I already have a bunch of cons to discuss but ultimately it's been great cooking with this! 

✱ Milk Lab. I've been seeing this a lot on socmed and CHB. They say it's the best milk for your coffee. You know I only take my coffee black so I never really considered this. Until I bought a kilo of coffee that didn't taste good in plain black. I thought adding milk could save it so at least I gotta get the best out there haha. Actually I just needed an excuse to try it. So yun.

Well, the hype is real! It really tastes good. It froths well, unlike other milk brands that are too bubbly and not foamy. This one tastes divine. It's really good for coffee. But as a plain cold full cream milk? There are better options (ie. Pure & Best!) hehe.

It's pricey though and you can only order online. It's ₱234 in 3's plus shipping so it comes out at around ₱90/L. Grand Nourriture is the official distributor and they ship really fast. 

Anyway. This is a very happy discovery for me but the phase didn't last, hindi sustainable for me haha. Ang gastos maadik sa Milk Lab no eh automatic drip coffee maker lang meron ako. Hassle pa magprepare I have to warm the milk then froth. If I want another cup, same procedure. It's time consuming haha. But the drink is super good so it's kindof worth it. Specially with drizzled caramel sauce from Torani! Aaaaahh

I was afraid that I wouldn't be able to go back to enjoying black coffee after being blown away by such good homemade latte, but I when I made myself a cup of black this morning... aaaahh, iba parin yung feeling, yung aroma, hindi indulgent, lasang lasa mo yung kape. It's all in the grounds talaga. So I'll most probably give away whatever's left of the bad batch I got and go back to drinking plain black coffee, specifically Basilio's Muni-muni blend hehe.

✱ Yeah I guess that's it. Ah! I got dual monitors now at home thanks to our local IT who sent in my docking station. Just in time for this testing project I have that requires multiple monitors haha yeyy?

✱ Haaay Lord. Hope everything will be okay. I want to take a good long break, it's already our anniversary month and with MECQ persisting, we can't go to Baguio na huhu.

Anyways! Stay safe everyone! :D

Life Lately and Friday's 10 Happy Things

Wow, we're exiting the third week of ECQ (enhanced community quarantine). I hope and pray all this is not for naught. I have a lot of things in my prayer list, and I'm sure we've been praying for the same things. Healing, provision, strength, protection, mercy, cure, wisdom, leadership, compassion, cooperation. Haayyyy! I've never prayed this much for others. Most of the time I only care about the things in my own little circle. Guess it's expanded to the whole world. Hmm.

Life's pretty boring. And I know it's a very privileged thing to say. There's not much happening outside but there's so much noise online. Of people's grievances towards the government's lack of action, our president's lack of leadership, our frontliners' lack of support. So many thinks lacking it's turned social media, specially twitter, into protest platforms. Can't really blame the people huh. But well, even before the lockdown, Twitter has always been noisy lol. It just seems noisier 'cos I'm spending much more time in there lately haha. But hey, it works. Clamoring online works. We've seen changes I know we wouldn't witness if nobody complained.

Overall I'm not too worried about myself, my husband included. We're healthy, we're both working from home, and both of our companies have been very generous. For how long, we don't know. I'm afraid if the lockdown pursues and we start cost cutting by retrenching, I'll be one of the first guys to pack up. So just to be safe, I have to be job hunt ready when the time comes *updates CV*.

I'm more worried about my parents. Not only because they're older and more prone to sickness, but also because this lockdown means zero income for them. As financial advisers, they can't go out and meet new clients, and it's gonna be hard to collect payments from existing ones too. They've recently decided to sell our house (again) because they feel like it's the only way to save up for retirement. I feel bad that there's not much I can do financially, but I do support them in their decision. With our current living state, the house is too big for any of us. If we can liquidate it and downsize, they would have enough left for savings and investment. Well, that's the dream.

My mom celebrated her 66th birthday last week. Since we're not allowed to go out I just called through Zoom. We were supposed to be at Baguio, but things happened and I had to refund my bus and Airbnb bookings. So far I've gotten around 75%, looking forward to get the rest.

On a more positive note, here are Friday's 10 Happy Things, just like the old times...

1. Before the lockdown commenced, I was able to setup my workstation properly. That is, I bought a chair and a trolley and successfully turned my vanity into an office desk. While people are emptying the shelves at the supermarket, I was busy measuring carts and pedestals at SM Home.
2. Happy that my sister could continue her work at home. At least she'd still be earning during the lockdown.
3. Finally tried using a menstrual cup. I feel uneasy right now but I'm trying to get used to it lol.
4. Cancelled trips = refund = money back to my savings pool!
5. Cinnabon's mini bons and S&R's petite cinnamon rolls!
6. My Airbnb and iWantSeats bookings were fully refunded (still waiting for Victory liner)
7. It's swelday today! They credited a week earlier than expected then also included our VL conversion. Downside is we now have to wait 3 weeks til the next sweldo but it's fine hehe.
8. My parents are both healthy and my sister is enjoying working from home lol
9. My parents got fiber connected last month which is super sakto because my sister depends on it right now
10. Ever since the lockdown started, I've been able to follow my IF schedule strictly! I'm on Day 25 right now of 16:8! As for my weight, I don't think it's changed significantly yet. I'm usually 66 to 68kgs, but right now I'm at 65.5kg.

Guess that's it for now! Hope you have a great weekend! As always, praying for healing and for this crisis to be over soon. ♥

God bless everyone!

Oh dear

It's been crazy. We're on enhanced community quarantine (which is close to a lock-down except our government can't take responsibility for everyone), people are panicking, and I can only pray for things to get better. For COVID-19 to eventually be eradicated. For the sick to be healed. For everyone to be protected and provided for. For kindness, cooperation, and empathy to reign. For God to have mercy on us all.

I've published two Weekly Monotonies since the last update and imma plug em right here.

Vlog #19 - The seeming calm before the storm

I discovered Highlands Iced Mocha which tastes 99% like Costa's Iced Cafe Mocha. And they're on the same spot too at RSC Lobby. Makes me wonder if Robinson's acquired Highlands after it let Costa go, it's been popping on several Robinsons properties in the Metro.

My officemate and I attended a Personality Development workshop in the office thinking it would actually be helpful for our personalities lol. Turns out it's 90% Mary Kay demo and 10% harassing us into buying their products. Errrr.

Our car is due for registration this month and while I had intended to do it myself, even filing a vacation leave for it, I unfortunately overslept at my parents' house so my dad decided to just do it himself while I was asleep. Long story short they called someone to assist them from the emission center. I was mentally torn about its illegality but then I realized that a personal appearance isn't really required for MVR (unlike DL renewal) so I figured it's fine to just pay someone for convenience.

Oh yeah, we also got our plate number. FINALLY. After four bajillion years.

Ate dinner with my parents that Friday night because swelday! Also because I didn't want to leave the house early on a Friday night. I waited for my sister to get home from work, and while waiting tried to study playing a song from CLOY. You can watch my futile attempt around 5mins into the vlog.

Hmm, what else.

I attended our cell group meeting for the first time in a very long time. I'm surprised myself. Saturday night CGs have been a struggle for me lately because it's usually errands and visit-my-parents day, but since I was able visit the day before, I figured it's about time I water my wilting spirituality by appearing in a fellowship. It was nice seeing them again. :) 

Vlog #20 - Panic is the real pandemic, but you're not gonna see that in the vlog

It's the week the number of COVID-19 patients in the Philippines have grown to an alarming rate. People are more worried. Looking at how our neighboring countries fare, everyone's expecting the worst. We can be sent home any time. So our company is rushing to roll out its BCPs, setting up hundreds of laptops to be issued to its soon to be remote workforce, drafting out all the necessary policies to keep the GOC functioning despite a deserted office. I, on the other hand, was tasked to develop a WFH functionality on our timekeeping system (TS). One that will allow us to log in and out of our TS as we work remotely. If you're wondering, our time logs are being purely captured by onsite biometrics.

The enhancement is needed as soon as possible, but no rush - they say. It didn't help that my manager was away on self-quarantine (bc of a recent travel) as he laid down the requirements. In between choppy calls and lack of validation, I was able to deliver what I consider a bare minimum. A quick win. This would do for now as we have not enough time to test. We can refine as we go along. Thank God I'm not alone in the team.

So I got the code base ready on Friday night but I had to be on standby as they prepare the comms. The go signal didn't flare until Sunday afternoon, just as I was backing up on a parking slot at SM Megamall. We were supposed to look at furniture and buy groceries, but my mind was distracted the whole time. 

I had backups so one of my teammates did the go-live, but my manager reminded me about a functionality that I didn't think was supposed to be part of the initial release. I thought it could wait. I also didn't think I was supposed to work on it during the weekend, so in the end he updated the code himself lol. It went fine hahaha.

HR also sought help with the guidelines, so I did my best. I sought help from others too, and we were able to refine the wordy points, make it more easy to read and understand. I cut the bullet points in half, and reworded almost everything. But when the comms went out, it's as if she hadn't asked for help at all haha.

Anyway. This is my current WFH setup. My husband works on the couch outside haha.

Now that the remote time in/out feature has been rolled out, I see myself obsessively checking the database. Querying the numbers, investigating bugs, consolidating missed entries, supporting issues, thinking if the copy on the website is clear enough, wondering why people kept forgetting to log out.

Argh. I've never been this tired working from home. But seeing that more than 75% of our office population has logged in remotely, I'm kindof happy how it's being utilized.

[Review] Dibea D18 Cordless Stick Vacuum Cleaner

I've been gushing over Dyson stick vacuums for so long but I don't think I'll ever be in a state where I could indulge myself with a ₱40k vacuum cleaner. So I took it to the internet to look for good alternatives and chanced upon the brand Dibea. They offer a couple of stick vacuum models that looks almost the same with Dyson, but for a much lower price point.

I got myself a Dibea D18 Cordless Stick Vacuum Cleaner from Lazada for roughly ₱7,000. The basic kit retails for around ₱6,000 only but this particular package included a Dust Mites Suction Head attachment which is used for cleaning mattresses and sofas. Apart from its price point, it's also fueled with good reviews both on Lazada and Amazon. And for those reasons I went ahead with the purchase!

I'm not sure what the best format would be for this kind of review so I'll just try to explain things FAQ style.

How much does it cost and where did you buy it?

Again, Lazada Philippines for ₱7,000. The item came from China and it arrived in 7 days. Here's a link to the Lazada listing: https://www.lazada.com.ph/products/dibea-d18-lightweight-cordless-handheld-stick-vacuum-cleaner-with-motorized-brush-intl-i234515741-s316948496.html

Specs and important features?

Specs:
✦ Machine wattage: 120W
✦ Battery: 2200mAH built-in Li-ion battery
✦ Charging time: 4-5hours
✦ Dust tank capacity: 550ml
✦ Suction: 4000 Pa (low mode), 9000 Pa (high mode)
✦ Run time: 45 mins (low mode), 25 mins (high mode)
✦ Noise: 75dB

Features:
✔ Cordless
✔ Rechargeable
✔ Two-speed control (low mode and high mode)
✔ Motorized floor brush with LED lights
✔ Can be used on hard flooring and short hair carpet
✔ Washable filters
✔ Hanging rack included
✔ One-push dust disposal

So what's in the box?

The basic set consists of those in yellow labels. I just bought a dust mites suction brush head and an additional round mesh cotton filter (in pink). 

All the items were wrapped in plastic and are enclosed in protective styrofoam. None of the parts arrived damaged. Yehey! It's my first time ordering a household appliance online and from China pa so I was afraid I'd have to ship it back for broken parts or complain about missing components. Thank God the package arrived safe and sound! 

What I love so far

Fast delivery
I placed an order on August 6, 2019 and it arrived exactly seven days after, August 13. I thought I'd give it a few weeks before writing a review but I guess I'm close to forgetting about it so three months later is just about the right time to properly review it, right?

Hassle free cleaning

The first few weeks with the vacuum have been a delight. I was using it almost daily, amazed at how easy it made cleaning the floor for me. I just have to grab it from the wall and and start vacuuming!

The switch allows you to alternate between two suction speeds, low and high. Another press turns off the vacuum.

No need to set up the power cord and assemble everything, like I used to with my old vacuum. My Dibea sits idly when not in use, and I didn't need to dismantle it when I'm done. I just prop it against the wall. Love it!

One push dust disposal

Well, yeah. With one push the bottom of the dust bin opens up, allowing all the dust to fall off. But it doesn't empty completely. I find that there's still some dust left sticking on the side of the filter. But no worries because it can be easily removed by tapping the filter or reaching into it with something like a brush.

Washable filter components

The dust cup can be completely disassembled and you can wash the filter, filter case, and the round cotton mesh (encircled in red) with soap and water. 

Don't wash the electric machinery, of course, for obvious reasons hehe. 

And for the dust bin? I just wipe it with a wet cloth and let it dry. I'm careful to not soak it because the nose that attaches to the metal tube has some wiring in it.

Easy charging

Once connected to the charging port, it will blink to indicate that it's charging. 3 bars and it's fully charged, and it takes about 4-4.5 hours to complete charging. 

The attachments lock in place

No need to worry about the accessories becoming loose over time because Dibea employs joint locks (the red buttons on each joint) that uhm, locks the parts together with a click haha yeyy.

The electric dust mites suction brush head

Or the fine dust brush head... that's the shortest it can get haha. This was the first attachment I tried after unboxing because I wanted to see how much dust it can get while the dust bin is still empty.

And my, was I impressed! This is how the attachment looks.

It's meant to be used on sofa or bed cushions and it's supposed to lift off fine dust and even mites from the surface. I tried it on a sofa cushion and here's what I got.

Fine dust indeed!

What I don't like...

The LED lights on the motorized floor brush isn't that bright

But it's fine, considering it's just a bonus and it's not like I vacuum in complete darkness lol. And if I do get under the bed or the couch, I make sure to cover everything anyway.

Navigating it around takes some getting used to

Oh yes it does. With the motorized brush head, it's difficult to lift the vacuum and place it elsewhere, like I usually do with my corded vacuum. I had to learn to really push it to places and avoid lifting it haha. But at this point I can say it's not an issue anymore. It's just a phase maybe when you're transitioning from corded to cordless vacuum hahaha (may transition phase?!). Most cordless vacuums have motorized brush heads to compensate for the low suction power, and it does help get more dirt without relying on suction alone.

No local supplier

Which means you have to purchase spare parts from China through Lazada or Shopee. The good thing is, for this particular model (the Dibea D18), spare parts abound online.

Non-removable battery

So in case you've used up the entire charging cycle of this thing, you'd have to purchase the whole hand grip attachment because the battery is inside.

Lower suction power

Which is totally expected. I still keep my old corded vacuum because it's way stronger and I might need it someday, but I haven't used it since I bought this soooo.

Anyway.

Not for big spaces

Obviously 'cos you can only clean so much in the ~20 minutes it's up (low mode). Luckily, we live in a small one bedroom unit and it doesn't even take me 5 minutes to sweep the floor with this one! :)


That's it! Overall I'm very happy with my purchase! 9/10 would recommend! What do you think of this vacuum?

Friday's 10 Happy Things // 6

1. Mornings like this

Remind me how blessed I am. I have so much to thank God for but I'm guilty of failing to revere him every time I see his work in nature. I take this view for granted a lot. It's not always that you get an unobstructed view of the sunrise. Hope it stays this way where we live!

2. Coffee like this

Never fails to condition my mind for work. Always and forever, Primo Iced Mocha! ❤ I've been wanting to take a fresh photo of this when it hasn't been mixed yet. The way the milk slowly hovers upwards as coffee is poured into the cup, I could only admire the beautiful marbling effect.

3. I finally finished this lengthy test that's been eating my days out

3 months guys. I've never ran a test this long. You could say it's pretty exhaustive, which is against the 7 Principles of Testing lol, but they wanted data from an extended coverage that could justify a desktop security upgrade. Anyway. So glad it's over, for now.

4. We got our first Paiwi payout today!

And it's even ahead of schedule, to our surprise. Last year, after selling our condo in Makati, we decided to invest some of our profits to DV Boer Farm's Goat Paiwi Program. Through them we got a slot at Sorsogon Goat Ranch, where we shelled out some ₱300k to sit for 3 years, while they give out partial ROI in 11 months interval. I have very little doubt about this investment program in general, since it's been vetted by several investors in TGFI, even Nawies lol, and there are hardly any horror stories in this DV Boer Investors Group I'm part of in Facebook. But the first payout doesn't really prove much. I really have to wait out the entire 3 years to give them my full confidence. But yeah, kudos to SGR for delivering ahead of time!

5. I opened an account at COL Financial

My husband and I decided to split our first payout between our personal pockets, our dwindling emergency funds, and of course tithes. I have no immediate need for extra cash right now, except maybe to buy a desk on the off chance I find something nice that's within 90-95cm long, but it's not really urgent. Since I'm bad at keeping extra money, it has to go somewhere safe. Like stocks right?! Hence, COL.

I'm a noob at this but everybody says to start with blue chip companies, so we'll do that and do peso cost averaging. Oooh, how fun lol. 

6. I got my LTO registration hassle free, and cheaper too

Because I had a Toyota dealership do it for me. Overall it's actually cheaper. Why? Because I didn't have to waste a VL, or an SL (sinungaling leave) to go to LTO and wait maybe 2 hours. All I did was call the dealership, email my OR/CR, and deposit the computed amount to Toyota. Then I just have to wait and pick up my new OR and sticker at the dealership, which I did on a weekend

I was billed a total of ₱4,540.06, with the following breakdown:

If I had done it myself I would've spent a total of ₱2,990.06 only. But if I had to take a leave for this I should tally in at least my half-day's worth in the office too, and that's not gonna cut it. Dun tayo sa convenient haha.

7. I replaced the blog header

Actually it was an old blog header. I don't know, I just needed a change, even a slight one haha. I'm looking at another layout, but I'm not sure if it's a good idea to change to this,

What do you think? Should I go for this plain and classic serif layout? 😊

8. I got new guest posts!

They lowered my rate but that's fine, at least I get to be given posts more frequently. Which means my blog's DA is going to dip lower and lower urgh. It's the sudden influx of low ranking links, I know. How do you combat that?

9. Chia, honey, and lemon for weight loss

It's kinda working! My husband lost a few pounds this week even without exercising. The only thing that changed in his diet is that I feed him half a glass of blended honey, lemon, and soaked chia every afternoon when he wakes up. I do the same for myself too and I noticed that I don't feel so hungry throughout the day. Amazing!

10. Happy long weekend! 😊

What's your 10 Happy Things this week?