Fresh

Since we are still at the beginning of 2012, I've decided to start fresh... at home, I have rearranged our bedroom furniture, bought new bedsheets and curtains (that compliment each other) and did a bit of general cleaning.  I even went as far as sorting the clothes in our closets.  I have "thrown out" those that we have not worn for quite some time either because they don't fit us anymore or we have just worn them out.  I still haven't touched our living areas yet since I plan on buying new furniture for that by summer, but there was still some "clean-up energy" left so I decided to rearrange my workplace also.  Of course I wouldn't be able to finish this in one work day because I still have to entertain clients that come to the office and there's just too much paperwork to be organized, but so far, so good!  My office table has been moved to a more favorable position and the sofa that serves as the waiting area for my clients (if I have more than one at a time) has also been placed better.  I'm lucky that I have my own office so that I don't have to take into consideration what my officemate would want instead of my preference.  My other co-workers were just surprised when they entered my office today but the general consensus is that the new arrangement is much more pleasing to the eye as well as more effective and dynamic.

Back to Work

Tomorrow, I am reporting back to work after two months of maternity leave.  Time seems to fly so fast.  I hope my mom and sisters would be able to care for Izzy and Adam while I am at work because I still have yet to find a nanny.

Biggest Loser

Yesterday marked the first day of our "biggest loser" program at the office.  Actually it's not really an office thing, but together with a few officemates, I started working on my weight loss project.  The motivation for all of us (aside from the health benefits, of course) is the pot money.  Each person who decided to join the "biggest loser" thingie agreed to give a certain amount of money which would be the price for whoever loses the most weight after 3 months.  We had our "official initial weigh in" yesterday and our "official weigh in results" would be taken on April 7, 2011.  The premise is that we would have workouts as a group every Tuesdays and Thursdays after office hours but the rest is up to you.  Whether you want to work out on your own and accompany it with a diet that best suits you is all in your hands.  We had a fun and sweaty workout yesterday and everyone who joined (not all included in the picture above) is looking forward to the next "session"!

Stolen Moment

As my title suggests, this is just one of those moments when I can write a few words just to let everybody who happens to read my blog know that I am still alive... I have been super busy lately and has less time to go online so I grabbed this rare opportunity to check whether my blog is still here.  Hopefully, things would be easier a week or so from now and I would be able to blog more but for the moment... I just have to ride out the work that has flooded my office.

Post of the Month

I guess I have to resign myself to having just one or two posts per month... I just haven't had the hang of balancing a career, being a housewife, being a mom to a four-month old baby, having a social life and maintaining a regularly updated blog. Anyway, this is my first and maybe last post for June...

A lot has happened and I wanted to blog about most of them but I guess the moment has passed me by that I cannot seem to put into words the details of what my complicated existence have been through for the past weeks... There's my son, Adam, turning four months and growing so big, so fast that now he doesn't fit anymore on the net which we normally use when bathing him so his Dad or my brother Allan would hold him in the baby tub while I bathe him.

And then there's the teambuilding seminar that I went to a week or so ago (where I took lots of pictures of but I can't seem to get around to organizing and uploading!)  Then there's also the matter of promotion (Yey! Finally!)  Now my thoughts are running faster again than my fingers could type so I better stop before I stop making sense and wait until I can post something again (hopefully more thought-cohesive, hehehe!).

Multi-tasking Worked!

For the past several days now, I have been cramming to accomplish several unrelated stuff:  finishing preparations for my son's christening on Easter Sunday, filling-up numerous forms and compiling document requirements for my upcoming promotion () and filing for refund of the overpayment of a loan deducted from my salary.  Now, I am happy to report that I have finally finished two of them and am now concentrating on putting on the finishing touches to my son's baptism preps.  And here I thought doing all these at the same time is making things more difficult and longer to finish...  At least now I only have a few more errands to run (finalizing the menu with the caterer, finishing the DIY giveaways and printing and distributing the invitations).

Meanwhile, Adam turned two months last March 26 and although we were not able to celebrate it like when he turn 1-month old, he definitely has grown bigger, heavier and stronger.  He often coos, gurgles and sometimes even shouts at us when we are talking to him.  He even chuckles once in a while now.  It really is amazing how fast babies grow and develop!

Office Affair

Today, our newly renovated conference hall was blessed in time with our superintendent's 64th birthday celebration.  Here are some of the event's highlights I was able to capture...

Swamped!

I'ts good that I get to blog now... I have been waiting for the opportunity to do so since this morning. I have been buried in paperwork and other work stuff because I had to go on leave yesterday for a checkup.

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Yesterday's checkup was an advanced one... I decided to go early this month because my scheduled checkup on the 21st will coincide with a personnel audit at the office so I cannot go on leave then. What was surprising about my visit to the doctor was that I found out that I lost 2 pounds! What?! I couldn't believe it... I have been pigging out on whatever food strikes my fancy these days and yet I lost 2 lbs.? Anyway, my OB says it's no cause for alarm as long as the baby's fine and I am eating healthy. It's just that my blood pressure is still stuck at 90/60. Plus, despite my calcium supplement intake, I am still getting cramps. Haay! just a little less than 3 months to go and all these would pay off... I am just focusing on the wonderful fact that I am going to say our baby soon.

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The tentative date for my baby shower has been set to December 12. It's my mom's birthday but she says it's as good a time as any to hold the small party so it wouldn't coincide with Christmas Parties of the attendees. I was actually thinking of holding it on January but my sisters said it would be better to have it next month so I could start ticking off possible gifts for the baby and buy the rest of the baby needs after the shower. Makes sense...

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Finally, my office is going to get the attention it needs from maintenance this week, hmmp! If the Personnel Audit wasn't scheduled for the 21st, I'm sure I would be waiting until next year pa for the much needed light fixtures maintenance and the installation of a new airconditioning unit!

Rainy Monday

If we were'nt so serious, it would be comical... What is? Our hurried version of this morning's flag ceremony! We had to do everything double time because tiny drops of rain has already started to come down on us. Oh, and our usual monday morning breakfast together had to be hurried as well because everyone had different field assignments they had to run to right after the flag ceremony! It was like a scene from a cartoon.

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Now it's almost 10am and I hungry again... You know what's bothering me these days... It's that I'm always hungry and yet after a bite or two, I feel like I'm busting at the seams already! It's the same with my liquid intake. I'm usually a healthy drinker - you know what they say, you have to drink 8 to 10 glasses of water a day - nowadays, after a couple of gulps of water I feel like going to the toilet already because I have to pee! Haay... just when I thought I have this pregnancy thing licked...

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Today's whether made the busted lights at my office even more noticable than before... It's quite dark now despite it being just the start of the day. I have reported it to maintenance twice already, but still...

Flag Ceremony

Today I had flashbacks of when I was still in school and every Monday would mean standing under the early morning sun and facing the flag pole to pay homage to the Philippine Flag. Yes folks! I attended our office flag ceremony today - not because I had an inkling to wake up earlier than usual just so I could but – because I was in charge of the whole thing for this week. It’s not like we are not required to attend if we’re not in charge though... It’s just that I very rarely come earlier than 8am on Mondays and so it’s been a while since I was able to attend one.

I know, I know... some people reading this maybe already shaking their heads and saying “Where’s her sense of Nationalism?” But let me just say it has nothing to do at all with that... It’s just that I have always found it hard to wake up early in the morning (for as long as I can remember) but it’s specially hard these days when I’d wake up at around 3am for yet another trip to the bathroom and would not be able to sleep again until around 4 or 4:30am. So, by the time it’s 6am when I’m supposed to be getting up to see Charlie off to work and preparing myself to do the same, I’m still sleeping and hubby doesn’t have the heart to wake me up because he knows I didn’t get enough sleep... EXCUSES!

Anyway, my bosses and officemates seem to tolerate my absence during the ceremony quite well. I guess because they understand my predicament (or maybe they just got tired of reminding me to do so). But, like I’ve said, I was in charge of this morning’s progam and so I cannot make excuses today.

I woke up around 6am, took a shower before hubby and by 7am, we were both out of the house and on our separate ways to work. I arrived at the office at around 7:15am and started with the ceremonies right away. As this week’s leader, aside from assigning who among my “lucky” officemates would lead the singing of the National Anthem, reciting the “Panunumpa sa Watawat”, “Panunumpa ng Kawani ng Gobyerno” and saying a prayer, I was also tasked to choose and impart a quote or passage that would serve as our “Food for Thought”. I chose this verse from the book of Matthew (23:11): HE THAT IS GREATES AMONG YOU SHALL BE YOUR SERVANT. From which this quote was derived from (as found in God’s Little Devotional for Teens) “It needs more skill than I can tell to play the second fiddle well.”Explained: No matter how high you rise, never forget that you started out at ground zero. Even if you were born to great wealth and privilege, you still were born a helpless babe. Real success comes not in thinking you have arrived at a place where others should serve you, but in recognizing that in whatever place you are, you have arrived at a position where you can serve others.

Going Through the Motions

Lately, I have been very slow in accomplishing work assigned to me. I feel tired and sleepy almost all the time plus the motivation just isn’t there these days. I guess because there are certain factors in the office that prevents me from being fully goaded into doing my best work-wise. Don’t get me wrong I still do the things assigned to me, but compared to what I can probably produce within an hour before… Let’s just say it takes me twice the time to finish a report I would normally accomplish way before the deadline. Nowadays, I would put off facing a certain report or task until I absolutely “have to”. Haay, I just pray that matters would improve in the coming months because I just don’t see myself working here long term anymore… It’s like I’m just going through the motion without really taking things to heart.

I read what I have written and I know I sound like I’m whining for no particular reason but believe me when I say THERE ARE REASONS! I just refuse to enumerate them and specifically pinpoint anything here in this blog because I don’t want to “incriminate” anybody and worsen the situation. Besides, for the moment, I have no other job prospects and intend to stay working here as long as I have to, if only for the monthly income (however low that income is). Times are hard nowadays even with both me and hubby working that I can’t really see us living the way we do now with just him working, specially now that we’ll have a little one to provide for soon. I guess I just have to stick it out here for a while longer…

Be patient, Heidi… There are others who have worse problems than you. And the way thing are now, I don’t think it could get any worse… Things could only be better in the future (however far that future seems right now).

Company Outing

Last Friday, we had our company outing at La Luz Resort in Batangas. Despite a few hitches, it turned out to be quite fun... here are some of the moments I got to capture:

Teambuilding

Oftentimes, a company would send their employees to a "Teambuilding Seminar/Workshop" to promote better camaraderie and working relationships. The problem I see here is that during these so-called team-building activities, the people involved are exposed to a different a environment and different set of challenges than that of their workplace. One might even take it for granted that the said "workshop" was attended to build bridges between officemates. It might be mistaken for a simple office outing. And yes, while there -- in a resort or a hotel where this activity is being held -- the people may let ther guards down and get to know one another, maybe even find friends in people they have always worked with but never really got to know. But... when they go back to the office, would they really apply the concepts that were taught to them? Would working relationships really improve?

My take on this is... I admire employers for wanting to give bonding time to their employees but let's face it, by the end of the seminar/workshop, the real personality of each individual will always be the critical factor whether he or she would be able to work well with his or her co-employees. There really is no short cuts in building relationships whether they be personal or professional. I commend people who are able to learn and imbibe the teachings they are inculcated during these said activities but the other percentage of employees who would still go back to their old ways and not really care about their co-workers are not stupid or bad people either. Maybe they just prefer to build relationships over long periods of time (I mean, eventually if your co-worker proves to be a team-player then it really is quite hard not to like that person). Maybe these people are just careful of who they want to trust (TRUST is quite a big word and it shouldn't be demanded of people... it is earned). All I'm saying is "different folks, different strokes". One should not impose his or her opinion on someone else just because he or she thinks it is the right one. Building a team cannot be done overnight. It takes time and patience for people of different upbringing and personalities to be able to work in unison. There really shouldn't be a time frame, but when this group learns to walk in one direction, you'll know.

Miss Earth Candidates

This afternoon, our quiet office was suddenly a-buzz with the arrival of some of the candidates of Miss Earth Philippines beauty pageant. They visited one of the schools under us to teach some of the students how they can help save the environment. Here are some of the pictures my officemate took before they went to the classrooms:

Back to the Saltmines

I know some people might think it’s mediocre or just plain tedious to go through the everyday routines of a working housewife but please indulge a recently married woman like me…
It may be of no great deal to a long time working housewife who has been through a lot already and has endured so much more than I have but for me, the novelty of having to take care of my husband as well as going through my usual hectic day at work hasn’t worn off yet. I mean, just think about it…

Before, when I wake up in the morning, breakfast is already waiting and the only dilemma I face before going to work is what clothes I would wear that day.

Now, I have to wake up earlier than usual (much earlier!) and see that my husband would at least get to drink his morning caffeine dose before seeing him off to work. (By the way, I love the fact that he always wants me to see him off at the gate and smile while saying “goodbye, I love you and take care”.) And then after work I have to prepare dinner for both of us. Not to mention the weekend chores like doing the laundry, ironing the clothes and going grocery shopping. But don’t think that I am complaining… I am very happy… Happy that I am now Mrs. Yadao (I can’t help but smile everytime someone calls me that… It still makes me “kilig”). Happy that I fall asleep with my husband whispering sweet nothings in my ear. Happy that even though my hubby is the one who sets the alarm for 5am, I’m the one who turns it off and wake him up. But most of all, I am very very happy knowing that although we are not that blessed yet… that someday (my OB-Gyne said everything’s normal) we would be blessed with a baby (or two)…

Anyways, nawala na yata yung train of thought ko... What I'm saying is:

However hard or easy the routines I go through everyday, and even though I sometimes dread going to work on Mondays because I feel like I have not fully enjoyed the weekend yet... I appreciate the fact that I am now a wife, albeit busy, but a wife nonetheless

Ay basta, I'm sure nage-gets na ako nung mga recently married! For now, it's back to work for me muna...

Going on a Seminar

Next week is going to be different for me.... I am going on a Seminar at Legenda Hotel in Subic! I'm really excited because the last time I went away on my own, for anything, be it work or play, was... well... a long time ago na! I usually go on seminars naman but with a group of people from my office, now kasi it's basically just me and Abby (from a different Department) and we would stay there for almost one whole week! I'm really looking forward to this because although most of the day we would be attending sessions and lectures, Subic is really quite a scenic place to be in plus we'd be staying in a five-star hotel so who wouldn't get excited about that? The only thing that's dampening my spirits right now is the fact that my honey isn't going to be with me...
Not that we see each other everyday... (We're lucky if we see each other twice a week!) but we at least get to talk non-stop over the phone (providing we're both not too busy from work, of course!). But anyways, he's also excited for me because I hardly have the time to go anywhere on my own (and of course he's also excited about his pasalubong from me!) Also, I wouldn't be able to post for quite a while because of this... I'll be leaving on Monday, October 3 and going back on the 7th and then I will be required to make a report about the seminar due on the 12th! Yikes, now I really don't have time to even go online! But I will post pictures as soon as I meet my deadline... so to whoever visits this blog while I'm away....

"leave your name and contact details and I will get back to you as soon as I can... Thank you for calling! Este, Thank you for visting pala! hehehe!"