a slice of chocolate caKE with everything on it

because life's like chocolate cake: it's only either very sweet or bittersweet

Tuesday, June 26, 2007

Preparing for our Lipa "Excursion"

Taking a break from packing for our three-day Lipa technical work-with. Which comes off to be more of an outing rather than work (with all the chips and booze preps, the "how many tennis rackets am I going to bring" lines, and the playing cards and poker sets committed). And, it has been confirmed that the factory has no curfew. Woohoo! Our rendezvous with the Cabuyao people will most likely be pushing through then. Tagaytay, here we come! Hahaha.

This is what you call a mix between business and pleasure. Kewl. :D

Thursday, June 21, 2007

Great Thinker

With the many things that I had to think over in the recent past, the things that are figuratively shoved to me at this very present, and the many trepidations brought about fluctuations at this moment that affect the future, I should belong among the ranks of the world's great thinkers.

Aristotle, Machiavelli, Rosseau, here I come.

Wednesday, June 20, 2007

Girl's Night Out

Just came from a girls' night out / dinner and kwento with CMT girls (plus boy). Had fun talking about girlie stuff! Hahaha. We missed each other a lot, and to think we kinda didn't see each other for less than three days! Pano pa kaya pag stints na???

Tuesday, June 19, 2007

Tick, Tock, Tick, Tock....

I'm waiting... (mala-Sonic the Hedgehog delivery, hehe).

Oh, never mind. I've already had my taste of emotional wellness today. I'll go for physical wellness tomorrow then. Hehehehe.

Monday, June 18, 2007

Coffee-mates!

DISCLAIMER: Believe it or not, this isn't shameless plugging. I just find the title appropriate for this post. :D

Nowadays, I am kind of developing the habit of inviting people (old friends, ex-officemates, college orgmates, etc.) to coffee (which is actually kind of ironic because I don't drink coffee unless necessary, i.e. when about to fall asleep in the middle of afternoon training). I just want to catch up with how everbody's doing, what's going on in their lives, and so on and so forth. And so, my persistence paid off and I was able to schedule my first "coffee-mate meeting" this afternoon.

I was able to meet up with two college friends that I haven't seen since graduation -- Chrissi and Len-len. It was nice seeing them again after a long time. Our conversation made us realize how we've changed the past year and how different the worlds we are in right now are -- with both of them in the banking sector and myself in FMCG. But it's good to know that despite the industry barrier, our talks are still the same. Fun and kulit and of course, always with some unavoidable reference to our beloved School of Econ. Because I don't know, we all agreed that Econ contributed a lot to the way we are today -- the way we analyze things, how we think, how we perceive a problem. etc. And I can feel it is still very evident even though I ended up in a very non-Econ field. And, based on experience, it is a plus.

Coffee time was fun. I shall schedule more of them soon. :D

Thursday, June 14, 2007

His Ways

They are mysterious indeed. Mysterious...

This day reminds me that things happen to us for a reason. Days, good or bad, unfold as they should. It is part of life's web of intricacies.

If the phone "incident" did not take place, I wouldn't have had 1) a good bonding conversation with a new friend; 2) appreciated the support, advice and guidance of two former officemates; and 3) the chance to bump into an old friend and hear what she had to say (which incidentally I was interested in hearing).

You can just feel Him work in you life. Galeng. :D

Thank you for this day.

Tuesday, June 12, 2007

Bow ako sa mga BOWer

The title pretty much sums up this work-with day.

Okay, plus maybe a few additional details, in the form of early morning girl cramps, heat strokes, and dozing off when you're not supposed to -- which made the day a tad more colorful (I'm just not entirely sure if the colors are positive or negative) but, howell. Hahaha!

Pero astig ka talaga Mang Melchor. Sipag at Tiyaga personified. In Joj's words: "Good job, Mang Melchor!" (Okay, I'm missing them already. :c)

Key Learnings: 1) Cramps you rarely have attack when you're assigned to street vending. 2) Never say never, unless you want whatever you said never about to happen to you. 3) According to sports scientist Nikki, I shouldn't count my calories, not until I'm 30 (because I need to stock up on all the vitamins and minerals while I'm younger). 4) I am seriously loving my job. :D

Tomorrow's another sunshiny day!

Sunday, June 10, 2007

Satisfying Cravings (plus a trip down memory lane...): Merienda at Hizon's

Finally had my long-standing Hizon's craving satisfied. Gio and I went to Hizon's for late merienda. After ten years (+/-), I have once again tasted their famous ensaymada espesyal paired with their hot native tsokolate. The result: A very happy KE!!! Hahaha! :D I was surprised with the size of the ensaymada though. I remember it to be fuller and higher and smaller in diameter. The one they brought out was flatter and wider. The tsokolate I remember being in a bigger mug; now it's in a smaller tasa. Nevertheless, I was not disappointed. Both tasted just as I remembered them way, way back, which I find amazing! Nothing about the taste changed, even if the presentation was somehow altered. The ensaymada still had that distinct creaminess, coupled with the perfect fluff, with just the right combination of sugar and grated cheese to top it off. The tsokolate is as native as it can get, with bits of what I'm guessing to be tablea still present in the rich concoction. What I like about this drink is its unique texture -- there's this kind of grainy feeling as the liquid flows from the cup, which, for me, contributes to its charm and authenticity. Other people who like their chocolate milk chocolatey sweet might have issues about this drink, but for a dark chocolate lover like me, it's A-OK.

Revisiting Hizon's brings back fond childhood memories -- of trips with my kababatas mostly. The first time I've eaten there was with them kase, when Bianca had to have her teeth cleaned by her dentist whose clinic was in Manila (and then it immediately got dirty, due to the dark tsokolate we drank not even 30 minutes after, hehehe). And it makes me miss them a lot as well (we're now scattered all over the globe you see). Those good, old days... that I know will remain exactly as they are wherever each of us may be; like the hot chocolate and ensaymada we shared before. (senti, but true)

* By the way, I'm within my calorie count even with the sot tsokolate and ensaymada. Hehehe.

Friday, June 08, 2007

Counting Calories (WARNING: This is going to be a very KESER* post)

* KESER: adjective; came from UPJMA lingo; DEFINITION: refers to something that is explained in a technical manner even though it is unnecessary

No, that isn't just a title for catchy-titlemaking's sake. I am now counting my calories. Blame it on being exposed to wellness every single day. And to caf meals that have calories per serving. And to the health and wellness seminar that Kaka (fellow wellness convertee) and I attended yesterday. But yes, I am now counting my calories. And today's the official day I start doing so.

I used to not believe in calorie counting. Ever since I decided to lose weight last year, I've been more conscious of what I eat but I never really saw it as calories and fat and all that. I just cut down on the amount I took in (which, as I have come to realize, was really, really a lot) and began to exercise regularly (thank God for jogging and jogging buddies) , which to my great delight, worked.

Unfortunately, I fell into every successful dieter's enemy: COMPLACENCY. I started working and because of that, I claimed and thought that I had less and less time to exercise (which shouldn't have been the case, darn it) and had more social events and activities, ergo more opportunities to eat out. I ended up gaining back some of the pounds I lost. And now, I have made the decision to lose all of them again.

The goal: to reach my ideal body weight for my height and level of activity. IT CAN BE DONE!!!!!

And calorie counting is going to play a part in achieving that goal of mine. That and a lot of other factors (okay, I'm looking for gym buddies. preferably officemates. let's use our facilities! hehehe). Go, go go!!!

This did not turn out to be that keser at all pala. Oh well. At least you now know what keser means. :D

Sunday, June 03, 2007

I'm bored

And thus this post.

I've been trying to get into blogger for over a month now and this is the only time I actually got through. So, now that I'm finally here... what to blog about... hmmm...

*****

I'm in this place in my life where I'm open to trying things I never would have thought I'd try... oh gosh, I'm getting more bored. And sleepy.

So much for an after-a-long-absence post.