the search is over...

It's been almost a week since my brother Jec, yes the doctor, started seriously bugging me to buy him a new laptop. Well, it's not that I'm gonna pay for it, he was just asking me to look for a good buy that is reallly worth his budget. And, I would have to use my credit card for the purchase. Taking advantage of the 0% interest installment plans, payable in 12 consecutive months. Easy on the budget, huh? There were times in the past couple of days when I would receive text messages from him asking for updates. Updates? On what? Oh yeah! About the laptop.

And yesterday, he got too demanding, mind you. He wanted it ASAP! He doesn't care about the brand, as long as it would allow him to browse the Internet through its wi-fi cabality, and he'd be able to work on his documents. So, today during our lunch break at the office, after few days of searching on the net, checking out various specs, models, and brands, I decided to visit the mall and canvass for what I believe must be the "best buy." Thanks to Rod for going with me, at least I have somebody to consult about the oh-so-technical specs of the supposed new toy for Jec.

Approaching the Cyberzone of SM Megamall, Rod and I decided to check out Silicon Valley since it's the first store we saw. An approachable staff greeted us. Since we have limited time to check out all items on display, I asked the staff for a laptop that's being sold on installment plan, given the budget I have and the card I'll be using. His first suggestion was an Asus. Since I actually had other brands in mind, I asked for other options. Good thing there's an Acer that satisfies the requirements. Unlike when I'm shopping for shoes or clothes, I didn't check out other stores for more options. I didn't want to confuse my mind with other specs and other models and other brands. So I just went for an ACER ASPIRE.

I really hope you'll like it, Jec. Anyway, I got you a Canon printer for free! :)

Seven Random Facts About Me

• I was named after Jackie O.
• If not because of DST, my birthday would have been on the 16th instead of the 17th of May
• In my 31 years of existence, this is only the third time I'm wearing bangs
• I have never traveled abroad yet
• I have attended MBA Techno at DLSU-Dasmariñas and have withdrawn after the first meeting
• During my time in AMA Computer College - Cavite (January 2000 - December 2003), I was the only female IT Department head among all 48 branches nationwide
• The first boy who courted me in high school is the same man I married 16 years after. And he said that I am the first girl he ever courted, and apparently, the first to break his heart, too.

I was tagged by Angeli, now I'm tagging Keih, Rochelle, Jhaypee, Cindy, Jho, Eillen, and Amie.

kikays

I always enjoy going out with my friends. It's not everyday that I get to see them, and everytime we're together, lots of chatting happens.

Last Friday night, we went to our favorite hangout, the local coffee shop, Barista. Since it was already 11 o'clock, we were only left with an hour to stay in the place. And as usual, the chatting was continued at Oneng's place over cups of green tea. Oneng, by the way, is my bestfriend way back since we were in Grade 3. With us that night was Kai, my close friend-turned-sis-in-law. We are three of the Magic 6, as what our husbands call us. The other three couldn't make it that night. Sorry girls, you missed the fun!

At around 1AM, all three of us were already feeling sleepy. But after Oneng announced that she's gonna give us some lipsticks, we're all thrilled, and decided to play with some makeup to keep us awake. Karen and I went home with 2 lipsticks each... and i got to have 2 sets of eye shadows, all courtesy of Oneng. (Thanks to her mommy-in-law who sent those make-up, we had something to play around with that time.) The pictures below were taken between 2:00 to 2:30am...

me, oneng and kai

massage that headache away

I just received an email from a friend whom I haven't communicated with for quite some time now. And he sure does still know what stuff I'd be interested in.

Watch this video, especially those of you who always suffer from headache.

Massage:How To Massage Away A Headache

first craft

Since last night, my mind has been excitedly preoccupied by this thing I wish to try doing: handmade jewelries. Yes! Those beaded earrings, bracelets, and necklaces. I thought, these items can be perfect Christmas gifts for the girls and ladies in my life. Maybe I can design some for the gentlemen, too. But before I even day dream of my designs, I need to take on my first step to start this project – buy my own tools and bead supplies. Then I’ll find out if I’ve got talent in this craft. :)

Wish me luck!

our usual bonding moments

This blogspot was created for my own little space. However, I sometimes find it hard not to talk about the goings-on that husband and I had. And so, take a glimpse of how our recent Saturday and Sunday went, but this time with less text and more graphics, in a so-called graphic organizer, created using Inspiration® Software. :)

Click on the picture for a larger view.

randomly written

It’s been a couple of days now since I last wrote my post. Since that day until now, there have been quite a good number of instances that I feel I’d like to write about. But these questions constantly bug my mind: how much of me should I make known to WWW? Am I ready to freely open up my rollercoaster ride of emotions to readers I may not know exist? Should I write about the sentiments I have on people dear to me? Or maybe share life plans I’ve been diligently working on?

At times, no matter how much I’d like to put my thoughts into writing, I’m just having a hard time doing it. My mind thinks faster than I could write, and it can’t seem to go back to the exact lines I wish I have written down to fully express what’s deep down inside. Nonetheless, here are some random thoughts that still preoccupy my mind:

• How can somebody not extend understanding when it’s my time to be understood?
• How can somebody just forget about all the good things I have done after unintentionally declining to help another time?
• Why can somebody not be objective on issues involving a person so dear, especially when that somebody is assumed to be of greater wisdom? (Blood is thicker than water they say! But the latter is transparent compared to the former!)
• How can someone hurt the person he or she loves?
• What about love? (in the same context when Winona Ryder asked Richard Gere in the movie Autumn in New York)

And as days pass by, as I interact with more people, the list of random thoughts just gets longer each time.

• and here's another one (encountered just now): don't they know it's unethical to talk over the phone while munching on their food? huh!

whew!

How come the formatting i have repeatedly applied on my previous post won't show properly? Frustrating!!! *sigh*

serendipity

What is serendipity? The first time I encountered the word was when a movie entitled the same was released. I admit enjoying the romantic-comedy feature, and had always used the term for my oh so serendipitous moments...

But what then does serendipity mean?

ser·en·dip·i·ty [ser-uh n-dip-i-tee]

–noun

1. an aptitude for making desirable discoveries by accident.

2. good fortune; luck.

[Origin: 1754; Serendip + -ity; Horace Walpole so named a faculty possessed by the heroes of a fairy tale called The Three Princes of Serendip ]

ser'en·dip'i·tous adj., ser'en·dip'i·tous·ly adv.

Word History: We are indebted to the English author Horace Walpole for the word serendipity, which he coined in one of the 3,000 or more letters on which his literary reputation primarily rests. In a letter of January 28, 1754, Walpole says that "this discovery, indeed, is almost of that kind which I call Serendipity, a very expressive word." Walpole formed the word on an old name for Sri Lanka, Serendip. He explained that this name was part of the title of "a silly fairy tale, called The Three Princes of Serendip: as their highnesses traveled, they were always making discoveries, by accidents and sagacity, of things which they were not in quest of...."

And here are a few quotable lines from the film Serendipity starring John Cusack and Kate Beckinsale:

• "Life is not merely a series of meaningless accidents or coincidences, but rather, it's a tapestry of events that culminate in an exquisite sublime plan."
• "When love feels like magic, it's called destiny. When destiny has a sense of humor, it's called serendipity."
• "If we are to live life in harmony with the universe - we all must possess a powerful faith in what the ancients used to call fatem, what we currently refer to as destiny."
• "Maybe we’re lying here because we’re not supposed to be standing somewhere else."

The next time something doesn't go as planned or as you expected, take a deep breath and think, this might just be one of your serendipitous moments. :)

Sources:

American Psychological Association (APA):
serendipity. (n.d.). Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1). Retrieved October 14, 2008, from Dictionary.com website: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/serendipity.

Chicago Manual Style (CMS):
serendipity. Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1). Random House, Inc. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/serendipity (accessed: October 14, 2008).

Modern Language Association (MLA):
"serendipity." Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1). Random House, Inc. 14 Oct. 2008. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/serendipity.

training the trainers

One of the tasks assigned to me in the office is to conduct product orientation to prospective school partners. I usually conduct a two-hour workshop on either Inspiration® 8 or Kidspiration® 3 International Edition. The company I’m working for is the exclusive distributor of these products, among others, from Inspiration Software, here in the Philippines.

This afternoon, I just conducted the same workshop to ten teacher-participants from a school in Quezon City. I am glad that they appreciate the benefits of visual learning in the classroom. They are amazed at how easy it is to use the software to develop their own graphic organizers.

For you to have an idea of what I’m talking about, here are a few lines I usually use during my sessions:

Visual learning is the use of graphic organizers to teach various lessons in the
classroom. Graphic organizers make use of symbols to represent ideas, and
links or lines to represent the relationship between these ideas.
Flowcharts are among the widely-used graphic organizers not only in the
classroom but also in the industry, to show processes or procedures. And
Inspiration software is a tool that makes it easier for teachers and students to
develop their own graphic organizers.

It is good to know that there are schools that really aim to offer quality education to their students. These schools do not just invest on hiring qualified teachers, but also provide tools that help teachers use the latest methodologies in teaching. After all, schools should be proactive in ensuring that the students learn at the highest possible level. And this can only be achieved if the teachers implement multiple learning styles, which Inspiration software supports.

i will miss you, Tay Iking

“Anak, wla na c iking kgb pa.” That was the text message I received from my Mama at 9:49 this morning. I am deeply saddened by this very bad news.

Tay Iking was the family friend I visited last Saturday at the PGH. At that time I already knew that he was just kept alive through the meds being administered and various medical equipments attached to him. I knew that his demise was coming, and I was preparing myself for the bad news. Yet, I guess, no one can totally emotionally prepare for a loss of a dear friend.

I first met Tay Iking at AMA Computer College in Dasmariñas in June 1998. The school was just starting up and we were the few pioneer employees of the newly-opened branch. In my almost six years of stay in the company, we have bonded like family. The friendship was even extended to our own families. He became our home’s handyman. He was ever present in all kainan in the house, and ever appreciative of any small amount of take-home. And even if I already left AMA, we remained in touch. We may have not spent almost everyday together like we did when I was still in AMA, but we have remained dear friends.

Now that he is gone, I can only go back to all the memories we’ve had. And I only pray that wherever he is now, I hope that he is in peace.

I’ll surely miss you, Tay Iking.

My PGH Experience

It's a Saturday. We could have gone home to Dasma last night, but Lorenz and I have decided to stay in our apartment in Mandaluyong. His company still has another day of exhibit at the SMX. Knowing he'd be busy today, I thought of just visiting my brother at the PGH instead of going with Lorenz to the exhibit.

I stayed in the main lobby for a while waiting for my brother, who is a first year resident under the Department of Surgery. The hospital is the last place I'd wanna be in, and the several minutes of waiting felt like forever.

A good friend of the family is currently confined at the Surgery Intensive Care Unit, so to buy time, I visited him first. However, being not used to seeing patients in such seemingly painful conditions, I left right away. At the hallway I met Jec, my brother. Because his team was still doing the rounds, he had to leave, and I... I had to wait awhile.

Without a waiting area in the surgery wards, I busied myself walking & reading posts on the boards, and sending text messages to Lorenz and Jec of things I notice around. PGH is clean, contrary to what I thought it to be. That's why I didn't think twice to sit on the floor when my feet and legs got tired of walking.

I thought I found a good spot on the hallway where I could sit on the floor near a socket, charging my XDA phone while writing this post. But a manong passed by and told me to unplug my charger because security staff may be roaming and would confiscate my phone if they see me charging. What??? I can't recharge my battery here? Why can't I? I'm paying my taxes anyway, whatever I have consumed I think my taxes would cover it. But then, the obedient person in me just obliged. I wouldn't want to make a scene here anyway.

Still, waiting for Jec, he's too busy. He wouldn't allow me to go home though. He said he'll be free after lunch, and we can spend time to catch up on each other's life happenings. He hasn't come home since he started his PGH residency in January of this year.

It's lunchtime and Jec can't have lunch with me, at least not without his team. So I decided to go to Wendy's, just across the hospital, have my lunch and finish this post.

Until now, I'm still waiting... waiting... and waiting.