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 🤣 💖

Today

🏢 It's RTO day today! I don't really go to work on Thursdays but I wasn't able to come in on Monday cos I was sick. Free parking slots were full, which is getting more common these days as teams gather for Christmas. Thankfully, there's guest parking available which is great. Then eventually I took over Urielle's slot, but only for an hour because I decided to leave early after more people came in. I can't with a lot of people now 🫠.

💒 One of my friends got married today and I wasn't invited so I kinda feel bad. I thought we were close enough. Guess I'm wrong. Anyway. I shouldn't really dwell on it because it's their-wedding-their-rules, but I get a really bad case of FOMO seeing my old friends together. Now it's like I lost a whole friend group. I just need to let that out. And start getting used to it. Hay🫠

💔 I miss my White & Case friends a lot. I guess it's just the reality of leaving a company. You lose access to some people just by mere absence. And I've long proven that it's hard to cultivate friendships online. Specially with my personality. It's also because I haven't really made a lot of friends here. IT'S DEATHLY BORING HERE. Maybe it's something I have to accept, because of my preferred work style (hybrid, mostly remote). If the team was probably meeting more often at work then it would be easier to make friends haha. Right now it's just Urielle and I 🤣 #notcomplaining

I guess I just really miss W&C. Not just my friends, but the company itself. The people, the events, the food, everything is so fun. It's really one of a kind. But I also know I won't be able to further my career (consequently, my salary) if I stayed there. 😄

🎊 Hey it's already Friday yey!

Sanicare Highlights the Spirit of Giving at Inaugural ‘Carols of Care’ Event

With Care Ambassadors Bianca Gonzalez-Intal and Belle Mariano Championing "Sharing the Care" This Christmas Season

03 December, 2024, Manila, Philippines - Embracing the true spirit of Christmas, Sanicare, a trusted Filipino personal hygiene brand, celebrated the season of giving with its inaugural “Carols of Care” event at SM City North EDSA Annex Event Center. Centered on the theme “Sharing the Care,” the celebration reflected the brand’s commitment to fostering community, love, and togetherness—values deeply rooted in Filipino Christmas traditions.

The event marked the launch of Sanicare’s limited edition holiday-themed tissue boxes, inspired by the cherished Filipino tradition of caroling. Featuring vibrant and nostalgic designs, the collection captures the joy of communities coming together to share songs and cheer during the holiday season.

“Our holiday-themed tissue boxes are a celebration of Filipino Christmas traditions, capturing the warmth and joy of the season,” said Jazel Ramos-Yeo, Sanicare’s Marketing Communications Manager. “These designs embody the spirit of ‘Sharing the Care’ by inspiring moments of connection and togetherness. Each box serves as a visual invitation to share kindness, love, and compassion with loved ones. By incorporating beloved Filipino customs like caroling, we aim to foster a sense of nostalgia and strengthen family bonds.”

Present at the event were Sanicare’s Care Ambassadors, Bianca Gonzalez-Intal and Belle Mariano, who brought the theme of "Sharing the Care" to life. Together, they led the Care Conversations segment, sharing their personal experiences and insights on the importance of hygiene and well-being, especially during the festive season. Through heartfelt stories and practical advice, they inspired attendees to embrace balance, joy, and celebration amidst life’s challenges,  perfectly reflecting Sanicare’s commitment to providing #TheCareYouDeserve and rekindling the spirit of Christmas celebrations.

The “Sharing the Care” theme resonates with Sanicare’s core mission of putting customers at the heart of everything it does. “Sharing the care has always been part of who Sanicare is,” added Ramos-Yeo. “It’s embedded in our identity and drives us to create products that cater to the specific needs and preferences of our customers. Beyond that, we aim to play a role in their journey of sharing love and care with friends and family, especially during the season of giving.”

A special meet-and-greet session with Mariano added a personal touch to the event, showcasing the brand’s focus on meaningful connections. Her heartfelt interaction with fans underscored Sanicare’s commitment to fostering relationships and bringing care to every aspect of the celebration.

The Carols of Care event reinforced Sanicare’s mission to “care it forward,” reminding everyone that Christmas is not just a nostalgic memory but an opportunity to celebrate the present and create meaningful moments. The limited-edition holiday-themed tissue boxes, now available in stores nationwide, embody this mission, bringing warmth and joy to every Filipino home this holiday season.

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ABOUT SANICARE

Sanicare, a Filipino personal hygiene brand under Sanitary Care Products Asia, Inc. (SCPA),is renowned for its eco-friendly and affordable sanitary products, including tissues, wipes, and cotton balls. As a 100% Filipino-owned company, Sanicare is dedicated to producing safe, high-quality products free from parabens, harmful chemicals, and unnecessary additives, ensuring care and comfort for every consumer.

Website: https://scpa.com.ph/

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!

Back to Blogger

Alright I'm finally back from Wordpress. After spending some $70 on hosting and domain, I'm back to Blogger lol.

For the past few days I've been busy migrating my Wordpress posts to Blogger. That was a hundred posts I moved MANUALLY because all of the WP → Blogger online xml converters are obsolete at this point. I mean, I may be stupid for coming back to a dying platform but really I just miss being able to control my whole blog without having to pay rent. Nevermind that behind this minimalist theme lies a deep dish of spaghetti code, at least I have full control of the theme down to the very last tag. Well maybe 90% in control because I just downloaded the theme and there are a bunch of obfuscated javascript in there that I didn't care to uncover.

Point is, I miss it here. Despite being totally forgotten by Google, I miss not having to pay for hosting and worrying about maintainance, upgrades, backups, indexing, etc. I thought being able to setup my site on a server was an adult move haha but I was a dolt for doing that. I thought that's what pro bloggers eventually end up doing lol. At the end of the day I still find it more convenient to stay here. I think it's because I understand how themes work and can code a little so I'm not too scared to mess up the xml. 

In Wordpress, every feature I want constitutes to a plugin that I have to install and update and maybe pay for. It's very convenient but also a performance risk. Back there I have a plugin for generating sitemaps, share links, back to top button, Google fonts, SEO, cloud backups, and so on! Even the whole wordpress platform gets updated once in a while and I have experienced my theme getting broken after an upgrade and that was traumatic. I didn't pay to be hassled like this. Everything is plugin based. At Blogger, everything is code based. Which I know makes it difficult for a regular user but I'm not a regular user so I like it and prefer it hehe.

Editor still sucks but other than that I'm fine.

Anyway, that's it for today for me.

Goodnight!

To do:

• Find a way to show the post time in AM/PM at the date link title

And hey I can do emoticons again! This thing breaks Wordpress 👎.

🥰

Test post with lists and bullets

I don't know why but the list items in this blog are not being indented properly. So let's see if it's a theme thing or a copy-paste thing. I'm currently moving my posts from Wordpress to Blogger.

• Here's a bullet item
• Another bullet item
• With a subt item

Alright that should work

1. Now this is a numbered item
2. Another numbered item
3. Third numbered item
1. With a sub item

Okay let's see.

Upon previewing it seems okay. So I guess it's a copy-paste thing.

Back to work.

Giving up on self-hosting

Currently fixing my old blogger site and planning to move everything back there by the end of this year. So much for self-hosting really. I had so much expectations for going self-hosted but all it ever gave me was more work and maintenance to do plus more bills! It’s not paying off. The only thing it gave me was a better post editor but everything else was a pain. I had to install adsense separately, maintain plugins and backups regularly, fix my sitemap, submit important posts for indexing, pay for SSL, and so on. I never had to worry about this when I was on blogger simply because it’s under Google.

So now I’ve decided to go back to blogger despite them not working to improve their post editor and having bad themes. I figured I’d rather do it the old way, at least I have full control of the theme.

Oh well.