Stay home weekend . . .

Yesterday I decided to do some “Spring” cleaning so I tackled the kitchen. We have this baker’s rack that somehow accumulates all sorts of non-food items, i.e. rubik’s cube, the hubs’ tiger balm cream, etc. That was my biggest chore in the kitchen was to “declutter” that area. Anyhoo, we stayed home all day yesterday . . . felt “yucky” with the cleaning that I did so I ended up taking a shower at 8:00 p.m. It would have taken me maybe an hour or so to declutter but I’m so good at dilly-dallying that it took me longer. Well, it felt good after getting rid of things that didn’t belong on the baker’s rack and also cleaned out the cabinet where we keep the cereal, cookies, etc. Since I was home all day yesterday I did some baking (blueberry coffee cake) and in the afternoon, I made some mango pudding. Moving forward to today . . . the hubs and I got up early so we decided to attend the 9:00 a.m. mass. JP had to go to work and AC was still asleep. AC would have gone but we would have been late if we were to wait for her to get ready. Today was Palm Sunday so they held the opening prayers outside until it was time to go in. Although the sun was out, the air was nippy. After eating lunch at home, the hubs, AC and I took Toby to this dog park at Point Isabel in Richmond. This was our first time at this dog park. This area is not fenced in but there’s trails to walk your dog either off the leash. We kept Toby on the leash because we were unsure as to how Toby would be “off-leash.” While I walked Toby to mingle with other dogs, the hubs and AC played catch (baseball). AC is on the varsity soft-ball at school so she likes to practice when she has a chance. After the dog park, we quickly made a detour to Target. I later went to Safeway and Farmer Joe’s for our weekly groceries. . . . tomorrow I’ll probably do Trader Joe’s. So . . . . that was that. Hope ya’ll had a great weekend. There too darn short!!

George Costanza’s 10 Commandments for Working Hard . . .

1 - Never walk without a document in your hands.
People with documents in their hands look like hardworking employees heading for important meetings. People with nothing in their hands look like they’re heading for the cafeteria. People with a newspaper in their hand look like they’re heading for the toilet. Above all, make sure you carry loads of stuff home with you at night, thus generating the false impression that you work longer hours than you do.

2 - Use computers to look busy.
Any time you use a computer, it looks like “work” to the casual observer. You can send and receive personal e-mail, chat, and generally have a blast without doing anything remotely related to work. These aren’t exactly the societal benefits that the proponents of the computer revolution would like to talk about but they’re not bad either. When you get caught by your boss — and you will get caught — your best defence is to claim you’re teaching yourself to use new software, thus saving valuable training dollars.

3 - Keep a messy desk.
Top management can get away with a clean desk. For the rest of us, it looks like we’re not working hard enough. Build huge piles of documents around your workspace. To the observer, last year’s work looks the same as today’s work; it’s volume that counts. Pile them high and wide. If you know somebody is coming to your cubicle, bury the document you’ll need halfway down in an existing stack and rummage for it when he/she arrives.

4 - Use voice mail.
Never answer your phone if you have voice mail. People don’t call you just because they want to give you something for nothing — they call because they want you to do work for them. That’s no way to live. Screen all your calls through voice mail. If somebody leaves a voice-mail message for you and it sounds like impending work, respond during lunch hour when you know they’re not there — it looks like you’re hardworking and conscientious even though you’re being a devious weasel.

5 - Look impatient & annoyed.
One should also always try to look impatient and annoyed to give your bosses the impression that you are always busy.

6 - Leave the office late.
Always leave the office late, especially when the boss is still around. You could read magazines and storybooks that you always wanted to read but have no time until late before leaving. Make sure you walk past the boss’ room on your way out. Send important e-mail at unearthly hours (e.g. 9:35 p.m., 7:05 a.m., etc.) and during public holidays.

7 - Use sighing for effect.
Sigh loudly when there are many people around, giving the impression that you are under extreme pressure.

8 - Opt for the stacking strategy.
It is not enough to pile lots of documents on the table. Put lots of books on the floor etc. (thick computer manuals are the best).

9 - Build your vocabulary.
Read up on some computer magazines and pick out all the jargon and new products. Use the phrases freely when in conversation with bosses. Remember; they don’t have to understand what you say, but you sure sound impressive.

10 - Don’t get caught.
MOST IMPORTANT: Don’t forward this page’s URL to your boss by mistake!

It’s time to get some new eye wear!!!

I had my eye exam over 6 months ago and I have yet to get new “prescriptions” . . . I’ve been blind as a bat since then and have difficulty reading my magazines. (Arnel . . . if you’re reading this . . . that’s why I don’t read any books kasi I’m “bulag!” Ha! Ha!) At lunch time today, I took the hubs’ eye wear to the optometry clinic to get repaired because good ol’ Toby got a hold of them. Luckily only one of the plastic nose piece came off and well, the right lens kept “popping” out too. While waiting for them to repair his eye wear, I had fun trying on different eye wear and even took a couple of pictures of the ones that I like. I was “eyeing” (get it! ha! ha!) two pairs both from Escada. It wasn’t necessarily the “brand” but I liked the shape of them. One had somewhat of a “bling” to it and the frame was wired vs. the hard frame. The other was similar to the ones I’m wearing now . . . my Hugo Boss. They said I’m eligible to have another free eye exam and since I haven’t used my “eye-glass” allowance I could apply the $130.00 towards any pair of glasses that I wanted (plus the free transitional lens). The Hugo Boss that I got years ago threw me back almost 400.00 buckaroos. Being that was my first eye glass, I guess I didn’t know what to expect. Now I know better . . . the way I “trash” my eye wear around. . . I’m surprise my Hugo’s are still holding up. Well, the next step would be to make an appointment for my eye exam. I should have made the appointment while I was already down there but I like to “complicate” my life. Ha! Ha! Nah . . I just didn’t know when I’d want to go for my eye exam . . . soon though because I’m telling ya . . . I CANNOT READ!

What happened to the weekend?

I swear weekends seem to go by sooooooo fast. It’s 3:58 p.m. right now and I’m multi-tasking . . . doing the laundry, uploading the pictures that I took today and blogging. I decided that I’m not going to give up blogging altogether but will post things here and there. If I haven’t been updating my blog, you’ll know I’ve just been busy with my pictures on Flickr. I just love the weather we are having right now. They said it was supposed to rain today. Yeah, right! It was absolutely gorgeous. After mass, we did some Chinese take-out and headed to the small dog park so that Mr. Toby can socialize with other dogs. He’s getting a little better with his social skills though . . . although the “sniffing” butt is still something we have to work on. I know it’s only natural but Toby seems to be doing that sort of thing more than those other dogs we’ve observed. Last Wednesday the hubs took Toby to the dog park and encountered some very “uppity” I-don’t-think-my-shit-stinks folks. These two fricken woman complained to the hubs that they didn’t like Toby sniffing their dogs’ butt. Well excuuuuse me . . . they’re dogs for crying out. It’s not like Toby kept on doing it but they just didn’t want him doing it to begin with. The hubs said the dogs were those ones with the fricken bows and the owners treated them as if they were prima donas. Ass-holes! At least on my blog I can “vent” and say these “bad” words. Well, Toby had a great time (playing and sniffing . . ha! ha!) with the other doggies. This was the first time there were actually 3 or 4 dogs in the small dog park so Toby enjoyed himself. Afterwards since we were in the vicinity, I told the hubs I wanted to take pictures of the Mormon Temple and so I did and they are uploading while I’m blogging now. Yesterday Toby and I dropped AC off at her varsity softball practice. Toby and I walked around “the landing” . . . KV knew I would be there so we met up and walked around a bit. AC had gone to her friend, C’s house after the practice and had stayed there until the evening when it was time for us to pick her up. . . . and so, that was my weekend. The washing machine stopped . . . my pictures are 74% complete to upload . . . . gotta dry that load and put another load in. Dang . . . I still have to go to the market and produce this afternoon . . . . Arghhhhh! Hope ya’ll had a great weekend!!

Ooops!

Last Tuesday afternoon while trying to reverse out of the parking garage at work, I “accidentally” (note the word “accidentally”) hit the concrete column. Well, actually the driver’s side mirror hit the column while I was trying to back-out. I should have had the parking attendant move the car that was behind me but I figured I could get the car out. WRONG! Next thing I knew, I heard this loud “scratching” sound. I said to myself, “Oh shit!” If it had been my car, I wouldn’t have cared “too much” but the car I was driving was the hubs!!!! The mirror was left dangling as the only thing holding it in place was the electrical wire and the casing of the driver’s mirror was all scratched up. Being a black car didn’t help as it was so fricken noticeable! I didn’t know what I would tell the hubs. It must be a “guy” thing but I know how much the hubs loves his bimmer (even though it’s a later model, and in immaculate condition at that) because he truly “babys” it. Well, as soon as I got in front of the house, I called hubs to have him come out. His immediate response was “What did you do?” Why does he assume I did something? I know I did, but I could have needed help bringing in the groceries?? As soon as he walked towards the car, his reaction and question was, “Oh my gosh, what did you do?” To myself . . . “duh? what does it look like?” I got out of the car and explained to him what I did and within seconds I started to cry . . . I told him I didn’t mean to do it as it was an accident. Before he could say anything else, I went inside the house. I came out about 10 minutes later to tell him I had to go to Safeway to buy some mayo, etc. My car is still not “fixed” but it is drivable. . . meaning, we don’t know when it will loose power (again). That’s another story. So I drove off with my car because there was no way I was about to take the hubs’. About two hours had passed and while in the kitchen, the hubs went inside the kitchen to tell me that he was sorry for making me cry (I was a bit shocked because he “really” didn’t make me cry . . . I was just getting emotional but we’ll leave it at that.) He then tells me, “You know I love you more than the car but the car means a lot to me.” He then says, “next time just be more careful.” A sigh of relief came over me. Whew! Bottom line is . . . “crying” helps. (And JP . . . . if you’re reading this . . . shhhh! Ha! Ha!) I had wanted to take a picture of the “damage” that I did to the rear view mirror, but when I went to take the picture after getting home from work, I noticed that all the scratches were no longer visible. (The hubs had snapped the mirror back in place on Tuesday while I was still inside the car.) Anyhoo, the only picture I have is the “after” picture. The scratches that I made were very bad but the hubs said he had buffed and waxed it today?

Another “published” photo . . .

Last month I was notified that one of my pictures that I took when the familia and I were down in Carmel last summer was selected to be on the 4th Edition Schmap’s Monterey/Carmel Guide. The “published” photo is below. It was taken at Cannery Row . . . . As you may recall, my first published photo was that of the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament in Sacramento (also for the same guide but of course different city). Wahooo!! Although there is no monetary award, just having the photo is good enough for me. Note: One picture that I did submit does have a monetary award so if I win, I sure would love to get a big gurl’s camera. Ha! Ha!

http://www.schmap.com/montereycarmel/restaurants_contemporary/#p=300974&i=300974_6.jpg

 

 

 

AC’s Pre-Prom, etc., etc.

Last Saturday AC attended her first Pre-Prom held at The “O” Club. This pre-prom was for the freshman & sophomores at AC’s school.  It was a “masquerade” theme and they had those colorful masks like you see at Mardi Gras.  All the way right up to the prom, AC didn’t sound like she was really interested in going, but when the hubs and I picked her up that evening, she said she had a very wonderful time. A couple of guys had asked her to go to the prom with her but AC told them she wanted to just to go on her own with her gurl friends. I’m glad that she enjoyed herself as I’m sure she’ll be planning to go next year. Anyhoo, Saturday was rather hectic only because I dilly-dallied in the morning so by the time AC and I left to look for some shoes and do some other errands it was already way past 1:00 p.m.  The hubs even had me go to the dealership to buy some silicone glue as he is still working on my car.  RS was supposed to have done AC’s make-up but she had to go to SF that evening so I ended up doing AC’s make-up.  Oh  . . . after spending 100.00 bucks to get AC’s hair permed with body wave back in January, she decides now that she likes her hair straight  . . . so for the prom that evening and on other days, she has been using the flat iron to straighten her hair.  Arghhh!  While AC was getting ready, I was on the internet filling out JP’s financial aid for college.  We had months to do this, but being the queen bee of procrastination, I had only that day to complete and submit because it was due the following day . . . Oh here’s a picture of AC . . . this picture is also on my flickr site and will upload more pictures after editing.

A “Kairos” Parent Prayer Service

This evening, the hubs and I attended the “Kairos” Parent Prayer Service at the basilica where JP & AC attends school. This special prayer service was for the parents to reflect on their son or daughter who is away on a 3-day spiritual retreat . . . . . . JP left Monday morning with his group for Kairos and will be returning tomorrow evening. Kairos is a spiritual retreat with different meanings, but here Kairos is adapted to mean “God’s Time.” Parents were asked to write a letter to their son or daughter which will be given to him/her at the retreat. This retreat is a time for them to reflect on life . . . past and present as they will be graduating from high-school and off to college this year. At first JP said he really didn’t feel like going but it’s a “requirement” to graduate. I think JP felt that way only because he didn’t know what to expect. Two other groups of students in his class had already went but they were not allowed to say where in Los Gatos the retreat was. Everything was like a mystery and hush-hush. We were not to let them know about the letter nor did they know that the parents would be attending a special service tonight for them. I hope that JP will find the retreat to be a very positive and uplifting experience for him. Getting back to the prayer service, each parent had to go around and share with us a quality that we admire about our own son or daughter. For JP, hubs said it was his “honesty.” For me, I had said that JP was considerate, respectful and responsible but another thing I shared with the group was that . . . this year I noticed that JP has started “beating to his own drum.” He is becoming “JP” . . . not because of the clothes, his own peer nor what society “dictates,” but he is becoming his own person. In today’s society, especially in the younger crowd, everything seems to be focused on material things. I am thankful that JP is not like that. I’ve also told JP (and AC too) that having nice clothes, etc. does not make a person . . . but what truly counts is what is “inside.” . . . . that they shouldn’t care so much about what people say about them . . . because that is when you find out who your true friends are. I see myself going off on a tangent here . . . the hubs and I found this prayer service to be very uplifting as well because it gave us a chance to think about JP from when he was born to where he is now. . . I can’t imagine that come September, JP will be 18 years old. JP will always be my “baby boy” no matter at what age. Looking forward to seeing JP tomorrow and giving him a great big hug! The poem I have posted previously was read during our prayer service.

Litany from Parent to Child . . .

I gave you life, but I cannot live it for you.
I can teach you things, but I cannot make you learn.
I can give you direction, but I cannot be there to lead you.
I can offer you advice, but I cannot take it for you.
I can give you love, but I cannot force it upon you.
I can teach you, of course, to share, but I cannot make you unselfish.
I can tell you about the facts of life, but I cannot build your reputation.
I can warn you about the evil influences of drugs, but I cannot say no for you.
I can pray for you, but I cannot make you walk with God.
I can tell you how to live, but I cannot give you eternal life.

Short notices for activities . . .

First of all, I didn’t find out from AC until late Friday night that she had her varsity softball practice on Saturday morning and secondly, she didn’t tell me about the arts festival that she had school choir performance at one of the private high schools. I/we don’t mind taking AC to her activities but jiminy crickets, can she at least tell us maybe two or three days prior. It’s not like she didn’t know about them ahead of time. It’s just that these “short” notices kind of screws up my plans on the weekends, not that I had any this weekend, but I just like to know so I can plan. Well, AC said that if it rained heavily on Saturday then the practice would be canceled. I was “quietly” hopping that it would. My bad! But, it only drizzled so practice was still held. After dropping AC and Lea to the park, I decided to take Toby out for a walk at Harbor Bay Landing. It was a gloomy day but it was a nice walk because of the man-made lagoon. I later went back home as I didn’t want to wait for 2 hours, so after I picked them up, we went out to eat at In & Out. JP had caught whatever nasty bug we had so I made some chicken soup for him in the afternoon. The hubs and I watched this Filipino movie (thumbs down all the way!!!) in the evening while Toby sat and/or slept next to us on the couch. This morning after mass, we headed over to where the arts festival was held . . . we were only there for 2 hours . . .thank goodness! The moms, Jack and SSM and I hung around and viewed the many wonderful art display done by the students from various Catholic schools in the area until it was time for the choir to perform. The hubs hung out with SSM’s hubby, Ron. The beginning choir which AC is a part of did a great job singing “Sentimental Journey,” “I’ll Be There,” and this other song that I can’t remember. (brain fart going on here!)