Dinner and Juice

Yesterday was supposed to be my day-off but I had to go to work 'cause we had to attend a meeting to address our "issues" with work and the management. What happened was totally just an utter waste of time and in my case a perfect day to rest. 

But I am glad I came to work yesterday for one thing and one thing alone and that is, I get to hang-out with my college buddies. We had dinner at Giligan's ATC and then proceeded to Jamba Juice to flush down all the carbs with "health juice" and a good dose of catching up and laughter.

*Sigh* I wish life will be much simpler instead of becoming more and more complex as we get old. Priorities to meet, money to earn, family to build. Hmm. 

Consider this a way out

A lot has happened but nothing's changed.

I'm still in hell.
In corporate hell.

I can't understand why people value money so much... You can't bring money to heaven or hell or wherever you're going in the after life.

Sure it can buy you things that can make you happy. I won't be a total hypocrite if I'll tell you that I hate having money. But making money as the center of your life? Ruining friendships and family ties for money?

C'mon.


Still hoping for another bright day tho my future in the office looks very bleak right now.
So many unresolved issues, piling on top of each other.

Invasion of privacy.
Stress.
Poor management.

These words are inside my mind right now.

I sure hope this will end soon.

I'd like to live a peaceful, happy and rewarding life.

Hmm.

Dear Reader,

First of all, I'm terribly terribly sorry for the lack of update since last week. I've been very busy with work. You see, I chose to work for 6 days straight so I could have Friday and Saturday as my permanent off.

Anyway, this past week was one helluva ride for me. I was pushed to the limit of stress due to so many demands from my boss, but thankfully, I still kept my cool and kept some words to myself or else I would be jobless right now.

My future is a blur right now. I don't have any goals nor dreams or whatsoever. It's sad really 'cause I'm not like this when I was in college. I often daydream about what i'll be 5-10 years and i'll make a plan on how I could accomplish it. I'm super focused on my goals then. *Sigh* What happened to me? It's like this job has sucked me to a dark place.

I don't know where to start... I do want to quit my job so bad but what will I do after? Apply in another job that's not related with my degree? It pains me so much whenever I see pictures or status from my batch mates from both degrees showing how successful they are or happy they are with the life that they have. I know it's wrong to be jealous of them (I keep telling myself last night, "Abi bawal mainggit" *browses more pictures of batch mates who ended up practicing their career and are doing great* "Abi sabi ng bawal mainggit eh."

I wish I could get out of this phase. This uninspired, full of angst, confused phase.

*Sigh :(

Photo Diary: Visita Iglesia 2012 (Church 4-7)

Dear Reader,

We continue our travel to…

Fourth church visited: Parish of St. James the Great (Ayala Alabang)

(Inside AAV en route to the church, my mom and my aunt kept wishing they could own a property here.. Someday mom, someday.)

(I can’t take a good pic of the whole façade of the church because the sun is too bright!)

(Another attempt, edited on PaintFx, UST ang peg!)

(Inside the church)

(Bio friends, help me identify this tree! ^_^)

Fifth church visited: Shrine of the Five Wounds of our Lord (Alabang-Zapote Road)

We weren’t able to stay long here because there were a lot of cars and people doing the station of the cross that we had a hard time securing a parking for our car…

(Nagmamadali na, but I still managed to take a picture of my mom and aunt doing the station of the cross)

(Much improvement since last year…)

Fact about this church: A piece or relic from the cross where Jesus Christ has been crucified and died is placed inside the shrine.

Travelling during the lent is great ‘cause…

(THERE'S NO TRAFFIC AT ALABANG-ZAPOTE ROAD!)

Sixth church visited: Good Shepherd Parish (Dona Manuela Subdivision, Las Pinas)

We always include our parish church in our Visita Iglesia. Even if we always go here to hear mass, this church feels like home…

Seventh church visited: Our Lady of Fatima Parish (Phil-Am Village, Las Pinas)

This place reminds me of that last scene in the movie “Closer” when Dan realizes that Alice’s name isn’t real. =)

To end this post, here’s another artsy fartsy pic of a tree…

Photo Diary: Visita Iglesia 2012 (Church 1-3)

Dear Reader,

Here are some photos I took when we visited seven churches (also known as Visita Iglesia or Church Visit) earlier this morning.. (photo heavy post ahead)

(I call these, my “Visita Iglesia” essentials. hehe)

First church visited: Mary, Mother of the Church Parish (BF Las Pinas)

(My Aunt Leni and Mom)

Second Church Visited: Mary Immaculate Parish “Nature’s Church” (Moonwalk, Las Pinas)

(Welcome Signage.. Ossuary means depository of human skeletal remains. Too bad we didn’t go there)

(The station of the cross is placed around the church along with the trees and the plants, so you could feel the serene environment while praying)

(Roof of the main church. It’s made from anahaw fans linked together and those hanging from the ceiling are birds made from capiz)

(The floor of the main church is made from pebbles and wood slabs)

We decided to take a break from all of the walking that we’ve been doing inside the church perimeters and found that they have a small pond with koi fish and tilapia. Mom even joked that she should’ve brought a hook/net so she could catch the big pla-plas for dinner.

(A street lamp inside the church)

(Let me in…)

I couldn’t resist taking a picture of the rock arch near the chapel.

Close-up pictures of the rocks and the roots growing on this arch..

This church really fascinates me, it’s like you’re immediately transported to another dimension when you step inside. Peaceful environment, you can only hear the birds chirp and leaves rustling against the wind. This place is really perfect if you want to reflect.. However, we can’t stay for long since we still have 5 more churches to visit. :-)

Third Church Visited: St. Jerome Church (near Alabang Town Center)

(Facade of the church, the sky is blue, no cloud in sight)

(Snapshot of an unknown guy doing the station of the cross)

(Umaartsy fartsy shot of Plumiera rubra or “kalachuchi”)

(To be continued on the next post.. ^_^)

Big Brother?

Dear Reader,

Wow, when I came back to the office from my 2 days off, I saw that our "IT" has installed a DIY CCTV camera (DIY because it's just a plain webcam poorly attached to the ceiling). I don't know why they decided to install such an atrocity (they can't even purchase and install a proper CCTV camera) here inside the office. It's not like we're slacking 24/7 inside the office (sure there are times when we really have nothing to do, but what can we do? clean the office maybe?).

I'm really uncomfortable knowing that someone is watching my moves constantly. I bet you'll say that I have to see it in their point of view as administrators and they're protecting the best interest of the company, but really, installing a CCTV will help? Ugh.. It's like being inside Big Brother's house. Maybe I could do a voluntary exit? Or have myself evicted?

Anyway, just wanna share to you what's happening in my office. Maybe i'll write about what I exactly do for a living, hmm. Maybe next time. :)

Holy Week

Dear reader,

Today is Palm Sunday here in the Philippines. It commemorates Jesus' entry to Jerusalem and it signifies the start of Holy Week.

To tell you honestly, last Saturday I was really puzzled when I passed by a church in Moonwalk and I saw a lot of vendors selling palms (or palaspas). I thought we already had Palm Sunday last February. I even asked my office mates when I got in... Lol, I guess I got confused with Ash Wednesday and Palm Sunday.

Anyway, I'm sad that I won't be able to experience the looooong weekend (5 days of no work from April 5 to 9) because my work requires us to work even during the holidays (both US and Philippine holidays) (I work as a lead pharmacy technician for one of the biggest pharmacy in USA, and as you may derive from this, like hospitals, the pharmacy is open 24/7). I'd really like to join my family on their upcoming trip to Batangas this Saturday and Sunday, but alas, I have "grown woman responsibilities" (lol). But I do get to take the Good Friday off, so I could do at least the Visita Iglesia with my mom and aunts (yey).

Since it's Holy Week, I decided to give up one or two indulgence that I have as a sacrifice that may help me turn towards God during this season. I'm giving up eating junk food and rice (which I loooove so much) and I'm going to go AWOL in facebook. Those are the two habits that I indulge in so much, hopefully, I could give these up not only this holy week but for good. :)

So..

What are you giving up this Holy Week and how will you spend it?