GRACE ANATOMY

Once this award is accepted, the rules are as follows:

1. Put the logo on your blog.

2. Add a link to the person who awarded you.

3. Nominate 10 other blogs.

I have lost most of my blogging friends ever since I abandoned this blog for a while so I cannot really fill in the 10 nominees. But I'm hoping these people will take the tag:

Dylan

Dylan

Dylan

.. hmm.. I've come to realize that I hardly have friends who are into blogging. :( As if Wu Chun would yield to my tag.

Our net server at home had been acting up the past week. With all the works that I'm trying to finish, it got so frustrating that I had to ask my hubby to get a globe visibility prepaid kit.

It is expensive, compared to the unlimited internet hours that we have with our regular web server. However, getting a back up in case internet connection gets messed up again is a necessity, with all the online jobs that got my hands on.

The first time I tried it, it was a dismay. With no 3G signal here at home, the connection was like going back to dial up era once again. It took too long to load, with frequent disconnections that translates to bigger bills since we pay P5 per 15 minute surfing time. Being disconnected before 15 minutes leaves you with P5 wasted each time.

On the positive side, I tried it at the school clinic this afternoon where there was a 3G signal. Amazingly, the connection was uber fast. I got to enjoy continuous youtube videos. Unfortunately, after 30 minutes or so, the connection just hanged and needed to be restarted. Oh well.

I hope the technology in mobile internet moves up really soon. Perhaps one day its glitches will be a thing of the past. People breathe internet these days. Myself included.

In 22 days, it's already Christmas. I have happy memories of the season as a kid. Life was much simpler then. We used to hang stockings that were supposedly filled up with goodies from Santa Claus. I would look forward to parties, exchange gifts and noche buena (midnight meal) with the family when the clock strikes 12:00. It was time to open our presents.

Presently, I am excited about shopping for Christmas gifts. There's something about Christmas that makes you more generous. If only I had all the money to spend. But like the old saying goes, it's the thought that counts.

I am at a loss with what kids are up to these days, good thing there's shop wiki online where i could search for any toy that I hear about and browse what they look like.

My niece Xylene is fond of gundam toys. I don't really know what that is except that I saw her assembling weird looking robot figures. Caitlin is an anime freak. I might give her something that has her favorite anime characters. Chinchin is a psp addict. I could buy her a new game to install.

With this innovative idea from shop wiki, it makes it easier fo shoppers to search for any gift item they have in mind because they are guided into all possible stores that sell the stuff they want to buy. It's your portal to a convenient Christmas shopping.

Despite earning extra income from online works and side jobs, I still find myself scrimping to make ends meet. What gives?

Personally, most of my expenses go to my favorite hobby- makeup. I justify my spending spree by telling myself it's an investment. The question is when will I reap the fruits of my supposedly well-invested money? Hmm.. tough to answer.

With Christmas just around the corner, I need to save up for the expenses that will surely arise during that season. I decided to list down ideas that might hopefully help me be a wiser shopper:

1. Lay off on the credit cards. With the advent of online shopping, it takes more than the usual discipline to stop oneself from hitting the buy button. Buy now, worry later. If it means making my husband tie up my hands to prevent myself from online shopping spree, then so be it.

2. Hunt for bargains. Flea market, here I come. I would love to go shopping at places like Tutuban or Divisoria but the traffic on those places can go really crazy.

3. Allot a percentage of my salary for savings. At least 10% of my earnings should go straight to my bank account.

4. Do early Christmas shopping. Last minute shopping forces you to buy whatever is there, whatever the price.

5. Have the eye for finding great stuffs at low prices. It is possible to purchase a good product without hurting your wallet. Sometimes, the mark up goes ridiculously high because of promotional expenses and middlemen.

Speaking of eyes, there's zennioptical.com, an example of an online shop that sells stylish eyeglasses without the high cost brought about by expensive advertising. Their secret to selling their goods cheap is by offering their manufactured frames direct to the customer. Reviews I have read say that most customers are pleased with their orders from them. It was even mentioned in a book called "Living Rich by Spending Smart."

By frugal living, we can actually enjoy being rich.

I've been my usual pessimistic self in my recent posts that I forgot what I learned from watching "The Secret". Since I'm on a manic episode.. errr.. happier and relaxed state now, I decided to list the things that I am grateful for. These are simple things that made my day brighter than usual:

1. I found a new online job. I got an email today for an interview and it went well that I'm starting it on Monday. About 2 weeks ago, I applied for another job that got me excited because it was a perfect fit for my educational background. The buyer told me that she was going to hire me once her payment process is verified but I patiently waited and found out that other applicants have been hired instead. I cancelled my trip with my hubby to Manila just so I could focus on that new job, only to be left waiting for nothing. I guess this is my second wind, as another job was posted which has something to do with medicine as well. The buyer is a doctor himself, like my boss in my first online assignment who is likewise very pleasant to deal with. I trust that this will finally push through.

2. My Cargo Blu-Ray Pressed Powder arrived in the mail today. It was shipped from US and got to me in exactly 7 days, including weekends. That fast! When I tried it before heading off to work in the school clinic, it had a flawless finish that covered my skin imperfections. I couldn't keep myself from looking at the mirror every chance I could get. This product is miraculous.

3. I got a parking space in a mall where it is extremely difficult to find one. Today is an exceptionally busy day in the mall because another parking lot was occupied with booths that cars had to find any space outside the mall where they can fit in. Like a blessing that fell from the skies, an empty space showed up just in time, at the covered parking lot at that.

4. No moron encounters on the road. Just the usual idiot stuffs. Ok, no negative vibes. It was a smooth driving day.

5. I found magic chips on the grocery store. Yummy!

6. My loved ones are kept safe and in good health.

7. I learned to smile again. After being gloomy and bitchy these past few days, it was almost impossible to believe that I could smile again.

8. I found time to blog again.


Thank you Lord for all the blessings despite my dwindling faith. I can be stupid sometimes but thank you for not giving up on me and for finding me reasons to feel better about myself.

I was described as a girl with an artistic temperament in my high school yearbook caption. I was originally pictured to dabble in different art forms but then things got lost in revision that the art in a temper became the highlight of my character which is an eloquent way to say that I have "topak" (being slightly off kilter). It was fairly accurate but definitely not the caption I want my offsprings and grandchildren to read about me. Not that I throw tantrums in public and run amok at the slightest provocation, but I do have a bad case of mood swings. I am happy one minute and then suddenly feel the world crumbling the next time.

Sometimes I do think I have manic-depressive condition, bipolar disorder, or maybe schizophrenia. But I decided to be kind to myself and be convinced that I am normal, only with occasional lapses in emotional management. I still need to grow up, seriously.

Like a few hours ago, I was ecstatically testing the new toys in the form of makeups that I asked my hubby to buy for me while he was in Manila. I was extremely happy that my hubby is back and I get to hug my living teddy once again. But now that everyone else is asleep and I'm alone to drown in my own thoughts, I once again ask myself, "what is there to live for?" I'm supposed to be grateful to be married to an extremely wonderful guy- an exceptional one who can deal with my "topak", to have a good family, to be blessed with jobs that no longer stress the hell out of me, and the chance to enjoy doing makeup for other people. How come I still feel melancholic? It seems I have to keep a regular dose of something to excite me to keep me looking forward for the future.

Maybe this is just PMS, or the annoying street kids that wouldn't keep their hands off from washing my car despite that I signaled "no" a couple of times to them. C'mon, do they really expect me to lower my window and allow the rain to get in the car just to hand them over some coins? Or maybe it's the morons who ride motorbikes who enjoy occupying the middle of the fast lane but run 40kph in the highway and won't bother to move aside to give way to other motorists. Grrr.. Sometimes I do understand what went on Rolito Go's head when he committed his crime. But then as he realizes it too late, it was not worth it.

I hate this feeling of living just for the heck of it, without the spark that makes me look forward to the next day. Like, what is there to look forward to anyway, meet more annoying people and morons on the road? I certainly have a lot of reasons to be happy more than my reasons to be upset but I guess my fear of not being happy for a longer time is what’s making me a very reluctantly happy person now. I am imprisoned by my own fears that I no longer enjoy the moments that should be celebrated. Too many uncertainties about my health, my career path, my dreams that are making me too tensed about what lies ahead. Faith is the only thing I can hold on to but sometimes it gets difficult to get a grip when it keeps slipping off.

I need something to be passionate about. I need to get a high without being low the next moment. I need positive vibes to heal my negative energies. Blah, blah, blah. My off-kilter self has taken me over once again. Maybe all I need is a good sleep for now.

With the Summer Olympics last August, I regrettably didn't feel the olympic spirit as much as I wanted too. Reason: the TV coverage was poor. The local channel that had the exclusive rights were showing sports that weren't spectator types. Although they sometimes showed events in which the Philippine delegation was participating at, most of the coverage would pass for a cure to insomnia.

I surfed other cable channels to hopefully watch better coverage but it seems the exclusive rights were kept very exclusive only to those who can afford pay per view. I didn't get to see how Nastia Liukin nabbed the gymnastics gold and how Alicia Sacramone lost her balance and concentration except for some news bits on other local channels.

Lucky for those in the US, they can enjoy direct tv packages that can enable them not to miss their most awaited events like the NFL through the DirectTV NFL Sunday Ticket. They can have a variety of premium channels to choose from. Movies to sports channels, you name it, direct tv has them. The NFL Sunday Ticket has the widest selection of NFL matchups, with as many as 14 games every Sunday. With this NFL TV Package, they can follow their favorite game at the comfort of their own home, in HD at that.

While hydration with potable water is a highly recommended habit, bottled water has become a convenient means to comply to our drinking requirements. It saved us from drinking parasite-laden tap water and taking in other microorganisms in water that threaten our health. Problem solved and we will live happily ever after.

Apparently not. Yahoo news reports a study done by an environmental advocacy group saying that bottled waters have various contaminants no different from tap water. The people from bottled water industry counters that the findings are faulty. I personally did not read the study so I cannot judge whether it is valid.

Apart from bacteria, chemicals were said to be detected from the tested samples, including acetaminophen, caffeine, fertilizer, solvents, radioactive element strontium and by products from plastic. Some are believed to come from the tap water used in the process while others are believed to have leached from plastic bottles.

I bring bottled with me everyday to work to keep up with my ideal hydration status. Plastic bottles are more convenient to carry around than a glass that could break in my bag or a metallic cup that would spil its contents. Caring for the environment could get tough if their are no better alternatives around.

So does this mean we have to stop drinking water? Tap water is contaminated. Bottled water has chemicals. Which is which? Sometimes it gets difficult to decide which is the better option or if we have a choice at all.

I noticed that men's clothings are more difficult to choose than women's clothes. Not that I'm planning to sashay in men's clothings anytime soon, but I learned that picking stuffs for my hubby is more complicated than shopping for whatever is on the rack. Men are generally more choosy with their wardrobes.

For classy tailor-made suits, there are clothing measurements, style and garment type to consider. Single-button, Six-button double-breasted, ticket pocket, lapel, side vents, dark, medium or light fabrics.Whew! To make life less complicated, there's an NY- based online shop for custom suit. They have been around for 40 years as makers of quality men's suit.

It was announced in the news yesterday that Alberta, Canada is opening its doors to more overseas Filipino workers. Doctors are included in the list of jobs to fill in.

Now my friend Mama Fe is excited once again about the new opportunity. She'd try anything just to get away from this country. She fears the political situation come 2010 and the falling US economy that might affect us as well. I can't blame her really. It's an act of self preservation. When you're a health worker in this country, you can't help but look for other options to reap the hard work and money you've invested for years to get to where you are now.

She's been pushing me to submit my resume to all possible agencies to try my luck as well. Honestly, I don't know if I really want to work abroad. Although I continue to lose hope in my country through everyday driving, by analyzing the lack of discipline and the mentality of people living here and all, still this is home for me. As much as I want to live in a better place where I have easy access to all the makeups that will not cost me an arm and leg for international shipping, I don't want to be away from my comfort zone. With my health condition, why would foreign employers hire me anyway?

Maybe I am still hopeful that things will change and that my place will prove to be the better option to live in. I don't know how that will happen but I want to believe in miracles.

I think I may be suffering from a nerve entrapment syndrome, if not myofascial irritation. Something has been unusually wrong with my tummy that I've been in pain for one week now.
I have no changes in my eating habits or bowel function. No palpable mass. I've been twisting my brains trying to diagnose my own condition.

The pain is triggered by light touch but disappears on deep palpation. Sudden movements make me want to scream in pain. Driving along rocky roads pushes the pain button further. The pain was initially pricking in character, which became crampy later. For a while I wanted to believe in "barang" since I could not grasp its manifestations. Then it occurred to me that this is something along the abdominal wall . There is hyperalgesia is somewhere along the lateral margins of the left rectus abdominis muscles radiating to the left lower ribs.

I took all possible medications from Dolfenal to Celebrex to Motilium to Lyrica which got me swirling in dizziness. I didn't realize that the latter's side effects are of that magnitude to prevent me from going to work today. All medications offered little or no relief.

Until now, the hyperalgesia is still there but manageable than yesterday. I badly need an acupuncture but I can't find anyone who practices it here. Sometimes I do want to seriously study acupuncture because I believe in it so much. I just don't know where and how.

For now I can only pray that this is nothing serious and I can go on with life as normal as possible.