from friendster to blogspot (part 1)

Now that Friendster has announced that it will be closing (err...undergo mass deletion, change it’s focus, whatever you call it!), I’ve started going over my profile, thinking what I want to keep...most of which are blog entries and testimonials by my friends.

It’s a waste, really, but then, as the people usually say here: “What to do, yani?”
Well, since I have this blog, what I’m going to do is copy whatever I want to remember from Friendster to here.

So, here goes...Part 1 will be my blog posts and Part 2 will be some testimonials and comments from my friends.


mommy!
November 28, 2009 thesweettower
Actually this happened almost a month ago (2nd of November) but it’s only now that I found the time to blog about it.
Every morning after I’m all prepped up, I spend the remaining minutes before I leave for work with Caila. I carry her, play with her and talk with her…konting bonding time between the both of us. As soon as it’s 7:30am, I hand her over to Mama, get my bag and start the ritual of saying goodbye to her with plenty of kisses and bye-bye handwaves until the elevator doors close.
Anyway, that particular morning, Mama was busy in the kitchen so instead of handing her to Mama, I placed Caila in her crib. I never intended to just leave her there without our goodbye ritual, but I guess she thought otherwise, because as soon as she saw me getting my bag, she suddenly cried out “MOMMY!” When Mama and I looked, we saw Caila standing in her crib with her head sticking out with a look on her face that seemed to mean ”don’t leave without saying goodbye to me!” I was so happy and surprised at hearing her call me Mommy for the first time that I immediately picked her up and kept assuring and explaining to her that I didn’t forget our ritual. She wasn’t crying, but I wanted to spend a few minutes more with her for my sake.
I left about 8 minutes later than usual that day, it took me a bit longer to get a cab, and the traffic was heavier by the time we were on the road, but who cares?…nothing could ruin my happiness the day I was called Mommy for the first time by my daughter.

comment/s:
Gina on December 4, 2009 at 9:47pm: awww…ang sweet naman…

basta’t mahal kita
May 19, 2009 thesweettower
There’s a song that’s been in my head for the past 3 days. It started out as a “last song syndrome,” but now I can’t seem to forget it at all. No, it’s not one of the songs that we usually hear on the radio because it’s a hit…it’s not even a common song! And I blame it entirely on my mother. You see, she’s here in Dubai with us now taking care of our daughter while Guchi and I are at work.
Having been a fulltime mother of 4 and a grandmother to 5 (not counting the 8 younger brothers and sisters she had to take care of since she was 18), Mama really knows how to take care of kids and babies.
Unfortunately (and fortunately?), how she tries to quiet Caila when she’s fussy is most probably what she did to try to stop my uncle (her youngest brother who was less than 2 years old I think when their mom died) from crying. Singing. You’d think that after all these years, Mama would adjust with the times and familiarize herself or at least know the modern songs. Nope. She enjoys and sticks with the old songs, telling us they are much better and meaningful than the “noisy” ones that are popular these days.
Well, she does have a point. Nowadays, I don’t listen to the radio that much; I prefer uploading the songs that I liked before, save them on a CD and play them on my CD player. Anyway, Mama sings to Caila during the times she’s fussy and wants to sleep. And one of the songs that Caila responds to right away (meaning she shuts up and just lays there listening until she falls asleep) is this…

Isipin mong basta’t mahal kita
Wala namang magagawa sila
Kapag ako’y kausap ng iba
Walang dapat ipangamba
Basta’t mahal kita’y sapat na ‘yan
Ituring mong sumpa kailan pa man
Basta’t mahal kita
Tahimik na itong buhay
Kahit tayo’y di magkita
Sa puso ko’y kapiling ka
Basta’t mahal kita sa gabi’t araw
Basta’t mahal kita’y kasiyahan

It’s a really old song which Mama said was sung by Sylvia La Torre (no relation to us). The song itself is actually nice…with simple and easy to understand lyrics. Plus, the tune is actually lively and catchy…which is most probably why I’ve been singing or humming the tune so many times.
The other night while I was holding Caila and trying to get her to sleep, I decided to try singing the song. And as soon as I sang, she became quiet and just stared at me! Unfortunately I didn’t know the song very well so she became fussy once she noticed that I had stopped. Problem is if Mama keeps singing these kundiman songs, Guchi and I might have to start learning them for Caila!

His Ways Are Way Better!
August 15, 2006 thesweettower
Just wanted to share what happened to me some time back…
Last 20th of March (3 days before my birthday) was actually Dooms Day for a large group of employees in the office…it started around 10 o’clock in the morning. One by one, people were being called in the meeting rooms by their managers…and then coming out from the room crying. Anyway, when my phone rang and it showed a call from the conference room, I (kinda) knew what to expect. So when my manager told me to go to see him, I steadied myself and said over and over: “Lord, di mo naman ako pababayaan, di ba? May purpose naman ‘to di ba? Bahala na lang po kayo kung anong gusto nyong mangyari.” To make it short, my manager said (claiming in the same breath that he didn’t want it to happen) that I was one of the 20+ people who were made redundant because the company wasn’t doing as well as they had wanted. But luckily, out of all those who were made to leave immediately (meaning they weren’t required to report for work the next day), I would stay with them for a couple more months because “they still needed me.”
Despite the way we were asked to leave, the company paid for 2 months of our salary, hired the placement services from a reputable recruitment agency to help us get another job, and allowed us to keep the airfare money for our vacation, and the furnitures and appliances in our apartments without paying them back (for those of us who were with them for more than 2 years, anyway), in addition to the statutory end of service gratuity we would be getting.
One day in April (it was a Sunday, I think), as I was doing my usual job (at the same company), my colleague recommended to me a company who had a HR Coordinator vacancy. Considering my situation, I sent my CV to the Deputy General Manager. The following morning, I received a call on my mobile asking me when I would be available for an interview. Since I didn’t want to miss the chance, I told my manager and arranged an interview schedule for the next day.
The interview went well…because right after the questions, they offered me the position and a salary a bit higher than I was getting, including the usual benefits. But they allowed me to think about it first, and told me to let them know of my decision before the end of the week. One of the (minor) problems was that they needed the position to be filled urgently (they could only wait for 1 month max if I decided to join them)…I had been requested to stay until the end of June, remember?
Well, when I arrived at the office, I wanted to see my manager right away so I could explain the situation, but unfortunately he was always busy; so it wasn’t until the next day that I got the chance to tell him. He was a bit surprised…so he said he needed to think about it (augh!!!). On Thursday, I sent him an e-mail asking him if he had already “thought about it” because I said I had promised to let the other company know of my decision on that day. Well, fortunately, he understood my situation and “even though he didn’t want to,” allowed me to leave effective the 1st of May (my last day with them would be on April 30)…yippee!!
When I joined Mitsubishi, my manager said that I needed to submit my attested and authenticated university documents (graduation certificate and transcript of records) so he could process my new employment visa (since my previous one cancelled mine…not allowing it to be transferred instead). Unfortunately, I had the originals with me but they weren’t attested and authenticated; so I had to send them to the Philippines and have someone do it for me. This would delay my visa application (which would be a hassle of course because I would have to exit to Kish…augh!!!), but again, I just prayed that things would turn out ok. During this time (around June, I think), the new law came out about the emiratization of receptionists and HR managers, and that non-nationals who were already holding those positions would have to leave when their visas expired. When my documents arrived in July, my manager did his best to give me a title that wasn’t HR or Administration-related so I wouldn’t encounter any similar problems in the future…until finally we decided on Assistant Manager.
To summarize everything….I was made redundant, but a better job opportunity was given to me, and I still got all the benefits that were given to my “co-redundants.” My employment visa wasn’t processed right away which worked out well, because the emiratization law came out and I was saved from having only a fixed term contract to an unspecified period contract, plus I have “Assistant Manager” on my visa.
Truly, when God closes the door, he opens a window. As long as you have faith and put your trust in Him, He will never let you down…because He always knows what is best for you. His ways are definitely better than our ways. And for this, may God always be praised!

comment/s:
Guchi on August 27, 2006 at 7:33am: ang galing galing!! mwah!!

filipino time…augh!!!
July 28, 2006 thesweettower
Doesn’t it make you angry when someone agrees to meet you at a specific time but when that time comes, s/he’s not there yet because s/he just left his/her place to meet you…making you wait for God knows how long until s/he arrives? If you’re a prompt person, most probably you’d have been at the meeting area 10 minutes (or more) earlier than the time agreed upon, which will make you have to wait far longer than you had planned. And if you had made arrangements for after that meeting, your next schedule would be delayed because of that one person who didn’t respect you and your time. Annoying isn’t it?!
Many times, I’ve noticed that this is a very frustrating habit, most especially of Filipinos, who, even though they have been reminded and re-reminded over and over again of the importance of being on time, they still leave their places on the time that they’re supposed to have been at the place, or they just wake up or start getting ready on the agreed meeting time, or worse, they start preparing only when the person calls them saying that they’ve arrived already, then heading to the place 30 minutes or 1 hour later.
Hello people!!! Don’t you have any consideration at all? Why should the other person or people suffer because you didn’t have the discipline to arrange your schedule and leave early so you could make it to the scheduled time?!?!?! Most probably, those meetings were planned ahead and agreed upon by yourself and the other person, so shouldn’t you be disciplined enough to be at that place at that time? If you were caught in traffic, that’s not a good excuse…hey, you should have known ahead of the traffic condition at that time of the day (it’s not as if the traffic changes all the time), so you could have left earlier than you had planned. Or if you were caught in a meeting that took longer than you thought, excuse yourself for a while and be considerate to give the person a call to let him/her know that you’ll be late…at least s/he’s aware of the situation and could do something else while passing the time instead of looking like an idiot waiting for the real complete idiot to arrive, or the meeting could be rescheduled. Geez, how would you feel if you were the one who was kept waiting?
Even if it’s just a social get-together, it’s still a meeting…it’s not different from a business meeting…so show up on the agreed time will you?!
How you treat these meetings reflects your personality and attitude towards other people. If you’re usually punctual, or early, it shows that you respect the other person, you’re a disciplined individual, and you are someone others can rely upon to achieve goals. Now if you’re always late, what do you think that shows of you? Sorry to say, you’re most probably someone who only thinks of themselves (very selfish!) and lives the “bahala na” attitude. Do you think you’ll go far with that?
Anyway, I just wanted to air out my frustrations with certain people who almost live to be late and seem to love ruining planned schedules. If you think you’re one of those, an apology is good…but being on time next time (if there ever is a next time!) is way better.

comment/s:
Pia on July 30,2006 at 1:38am: tama ka Sis! You seemed so pissed off,hihihi..

for the “pumalit” and the “pinalitan”
July 25, 2006 thesweettower
I was browsing friendster a while ago, and there were some interesting profiles that caught my eye (some were my friends, some were friends of friends, etc) so I checked out their blogs (the ones that I had access to, anyway).
Whew! I know that blogs are there to express how you feel, what you’re thinking, your opinion or whatever…but sheesh! there were some that were downright nasty (and I don’t mean that in a sexy or cool way).
I came across some blogs that were really mean…mostly from women…who were sour-graping or badmouthing other people… some were written indirectly, using symbolisms or whatever, but if you knew who the blog was being referred to, you’d get the message. In general, they were expressions of resentment and hatred towards their ex and/or their ex’s current partner, or their current partner’s ex.
My first reaction was…HELLO! OK KA LANG?! GET A LIFE, WILL YOU?!
For those pining for their ex (admit it, you are!) or badmouthing “that girl,” it just goes to show that you haven’t moved on…you’re jealous, you’re insecure…do you think he’ll come back to you after you’ve shown how vulgar and uneducated you are? Do you think you’ll be able to find “the one” if you’re still holding on to “the one that got away”?
And to those who keep bitching about their partner’s ex…you’ve got the man you want, he chose you over her, so what are you bickering and being so self-righteous about? Wake up and enjoy your relationship. Don’t waste your time over something in the past. If you do, it also shows that you’re jealous and insecure. Doesn’t he shower you with enough love and affection? Aren’t the regular calls and text messages he sends every hour enough to show you that he cares for you? Or at the back of your mind are you still thinking and comparing what he did for his ex…so nothing he does is enough for you?! Geez! Don’t you realize by doing this you’re living in the shadow of that girl…so don’t wonder why all of sudden he dumps you for another (maybe someone who was just like you before your “ex-mania”).
Hey, I’m speaking from experience. I’ve been the “pumalit,” (well, not exactly, but I was the one he ended up with when she broke up with him) and the “pinalitan” (the current’s ex)…not at the same time, of course…and both experiences weren’t pretty because of the girls who kept blaming and annoying me (duh! as if it was my fault!).
After some time, I got fed up. I just moved on, ignored them and let everything go…the pestering died down after a while. So to all of you bitching about him/her/them, do the same…live your own life. You don’t have to prove anything to anyone. Forget about him/her; why waste your time over someone insignificant? Most probably, they’re not wasting any of their time over you. If you keep bothering them, you’ll look like a complete loser, a totally dependent person who doesn’t know when to give up. If they provoke an argument, just ignore them. Pray for strength, patience, guidance…and for God to touch their lives (this will be difficult, but it really helps). You’ll be the better person in the end…a stronger one who can count this as just another fight you won.

comment/s
Maeyo on July 25, 2006 at 2:45am: A very good post Pam!
Thea on July 25, 2006 at 3:46 am: akin yta un nabasa mo ate pam ah! hehehe! nways, dats a good one! chka drama lng un akin! hahaha! take care! see u around! muwaaahh!
Butch on July 25, 2006 at 4:23am: whoa. nice one! hehehe
Karen on July 26, 2006 at 12:24am: amen!
Maree on July 26, 2006 at 5:43am: hey pam… ur post caught my attention & bingo, i was guilty in a way…u cant blame d pinalitan coz its hard to explain d feeling of being dumped, ha ha ha…funny coz i was d pinalitan but know what i havent found one sum1 new but it doesnt mean i havent moved on yet…i am over him i guess but being so much careful this time would help…to all d pinalitan, kaya nyo yan & sa mga pumalit, gud luck na lang…

Pamela One…Pamela-mela One…
July 12, 2006 thesweettower
Call me baduy or jologs, but lately I’ve been enjoying listening to opm songs like “halik” and “basang-basa sa ulan” by aegis, “sinaktan mo ang puso ko” by michael v., “spaghetti song” by the sex bomb girls/dancers, “ocho-ocho” by bayani agbayani, and my personal favorite (for obvious reasons) “pamela 1” by vhong navarro…there’s more but the list is kinda long.
I don’t know…Maybe it’s because I’m feeling kinda homesick and I want to remember the fun times I had in the Philippines.
Not that these songs have any special meanings to me or anything…wala akong theme song sa mga yan (hmm…maybe “pamela 1” hehehe); but when I listen to them, they make me happy in a way. Some of them have lively and upbeat tunes that can make anyone want to forget their worries and dance even if the person will look stupid (I have 2 left feet so you can probably imagine how I look when I dance to these songs). And anyone who sings along with these songs can really enjoy them with friends coz they make you laugh at the “ka-baduy-an” of it all.
They’re not really to be taken seriously. Most probably, these songs were composed to make the listeners smile and laugh, to let their guard down and just make “hataw!”
With the songs by aegis, the lyrics have pretty deep words like: bakas, naninibugho, and hangal. Whew! You can actually learn while listening to them.
So, the next time you hear a baduy/jologs opm song, just bear with it (roll your eyes if you want to)…but i’m sure you’ll smile after a while…and who knows, maybe you’ll like it in the long run =)
Everybody now…”Pamela 1, igalaw ang katawan…Pamela 2, kumembot ng ganito…Pamela 3, parang kinikiliti…Pamela 4, gagayahin ng F4…”

a positive sign
June 26, 2006 thesweettower
last night was our household leaders training, and although it was the 5th talk, it was my first time to attend (my bad!).
anyway, ate may (marquez) was the one who gave the talk which was about zeal for righteousness, and as to be expected, her talk was really inspiring and very informative (although, since it was a bit late and past my normal bedtime, it was kinda difficult to keep from yawning a number of times...sorry ate may!).
at the end of her talk, she told us to close our eyes, lay our hands open on our lap, free ourselves from worries, and to keep our hearts and minds open for the lord’s message...which is what we did. during the prayer, i suddenly had a vision. what i saw was a church decorated and filled with blue roses...it was really beautiful! and there, kneeling in front of the alter was a couple: a bride wearing an elegant white wedding gown with a blue back, and the groom wearing a stunning tuxedo. although i couldn’t see their faces, i just knew that the pair getting married was me and guchi. it was just a picture...nothing was going on...it was just a solemn scene. after this vision, i felt a kind of peace come over me. and that’s the time ate may was ending her prayer.
many of you might say that i must have been daydreaming or my thoughts were wandering during the prayer. but i can honestly tell you that i wasn’t. i know, deep in my heart that this was a message from the lord, telling me that this relationship was his gift...it was part of his plan…and because it’s from him, because it’s blessed by him, this relationship is going to work out, as long as we keep him at the centre.
may god always be praised!

comment/s
May Agnes on June 28, 2006 at 2:44am: Hi Pam. that was just a great message. YOu know He speaks to us in our moments of silence and opening our hearts for Him to enter and He did. that was an inspiring message from Him talaga , affirmation that Gucci is the best man for you and of course you are for CFC in the future. mwahhh God bless. ate may
Guchi on June 29, 2006 at 6:02am: “sabi ko na nga ba... =)”
i so thankful to God that you’r the one il be spending the rest of my days all of my life. wahooo!! i am so blessed to have you, my better half...i love you babieko!! paki hiwa yung lemon ha!!