Creamy goodness!

I am back. Back to Blogworld. But with nothing worth writing to tell. Except that I have been very busy. Since the morning I arrived from Cebu. Yup, I have rerouted my supposed flight to CDO, to Cebu - where I spent a day and a night before I sailed home with hubby last Saturday. And we had the whole clan to meet us. We thought that my father's the only one to pick us up but we had a pleasant surprise because my mother, my sister and my son came too. Glorious day, that Saturday, the homecoming.

And I've been real busy since then. But good thing, I have hubby to help me get things done (and to entertain a very active kid) even for just a couple of days. Clean the house. Wash clothes, shoes, toys and more. Look for the lost arm and head of Redman. Hmm, fixing toys is one of my favorite past time these days. Play and play with son to make up for some lost time.

I am back. Back to the old grind. To my reality. And it is easier to remember that I do not own my time here. Because the kid who is calling out "Mama" and demanding my attention does. But it feels so good to be back. To smell the milky scent in our room again is pure heaven.

I am home. And saying "home" has a wonderful ring to it.

Spaces and commas..

As of this posting, I am not sure what to say. I have plenty of thoughts in my mind now, but not sure how I'd say them. I need to sort these before they come stampeding and getting in control of my actions.

I miss my son, terribly! Hearing him say Mama over the phone is pure bliss (although nothing compares seeing him in person). I have heard him say "Bobby" (new name referring to Pooh Bear) and "Vroom-vroom" (the car) while talking over the phone and these means so much to me because I know how he loves these things..and just being associated with them is wonderful.

The past few days were not so sunny. Times when one needs more than what is at hand. The feeling of wanting something but couldn't have it (sometimes, because you couldn't exactly tell what it is..haha!). It gets so frustrating. Gets to my nerves. And gets me withdrawn. Moments, those moments when I cannot feel good about myself. But these past few days, and when I got those, I kept reminding myself that "hey, this is just now" because I feel it is important to acknowledge that I was just going through a phase at some points in my life (but that I won't be in it forever..)..The "now-and-present-but-not-tomorrow" concept works just fine.

And I am closer to home. One more day...and I'll be home.

And yes, I am feeling a little better by just writing these..Haha!

-Blank-

It is true. I have read somewhere that when one feels a void within, nature will find a way to fill it.

Being away from home, I have plenty gaps and spaces waiting to be filled. I have in abundance time by and for myself, everyday. But I have occupied myself with watching tv, reading, writing and blogging.. sometimes, just taking loooong baths..few times, shopping (or window-shopping)..or just plainly enjoying a meal..and catching up on some sleep!

But after the training today, I have not made plans on what to do to fill some gaps. It could be lonelier when I get back to the hotel room because my friend and her sister had gone back to their place before noon.

And then somebody (training classmate) saved me from spending a lonely afternoon in my hotel room by offering to tour me to the Rockwell Powerplant Mall. I have never been there before and I never really cared if I get to see the place, but since spending an afternoon wallowing in misery was not attractive, I gladly accepted the invitation.

After malling, she even accompanied and stayed with me in the hotel room (while waiting for his husband to logged off from work).

Blue

I don’t feel so good today. I am beset with thoughts. Serious thoughts.

I hope to feel better tomorrow. I hope my vitamins can infuse some inspiration. Some courage.

Lord, help me because I don’t want any part of negativity getting into my system. Please let me be more patient, considerate and understanding.

Help me stretch the iota of love I have so I can envelope myself more and can radiate this love to the people around me; the scrap of forgiveness, to pile up and continually grow until the bucket is brimming. Endlessly.

I know with a prayer I’ll make it through the night.

Goodnight, Barney. Goodnight, Pooh Bear.

Just because...

In all my 6 years of working in my present company, I have carefully tried not to look girlish. It hadn’t been like this with my previous job though, when I would purposely put on a little make-up so I would look mature and not like a high-school student gone astray in the production area. But working in a male-dominated workplace (at present)is an entirely different story and that I would gladly be a wallpaper (much safer) than risk getting ogled over or ridiculed. At any rate, I would rather be someone who will tell them who to ogle over (haha).

In my effort to belong, there was even a year that I’ve gotten myself a mean haircut (had my hair shaved to barely an inch-length) just to be one-of-the-guys. This was when there were still 3 female species (including me) among others working in the Switch. When we were merged into the Field Operation, I had all the more reason to stick to the basics. Imagine going to the outskirts and rural areas with some make-up on (esp since working under the scorching heat of the sun was inevitable and carrying equipment was part of the job), I would look kinda funny. (Even dressing up is a rarity because like wearing make-up, it is akin to knocking at their doors naked. It’s best for everyone’s sake to just wear jeans, shirt and a pair of comfortable footwear like a rubber shoes or slippers.) With this job, I have come to believe that part of my responsibility is to be sensible, which is to do away from chances of getting ogled over, be the subject of ridicule, be entirely useless or an additional burden/responsibility to my team mates.

So there is the reason that I don’t wear make-up. And especially not to work, for fear of looking like a pimp among the men in the office. And I just got the hang of it that I also don’t wear make-up even when I go out to the mall or some other place outside my home.

And when I got pregnant, some beauty products had to go, too. I had to stay away from getting in contact with some, too (ask the OB-GYNE..). Some were discarded or given to interested party (like a sister!) and some were left to gather dust in one corner, unused. With this, I spent only a minimal amount for a mild soap, shampoo and conditioner and a baby lotion. Sometimes, I occasionally sprayed on some scent (Can you believe that it’s a For Men version which I later gave to hubby after Matt’s birth!).

I have carried on with this minimalist routine after Matt came (although I already switched perfume, changed my conditioner after the December hairdo). Saves a lot of time (I rarely have time for myself ..and at the rate I’m going I might turn into an old hag in no time..and maybe i already turned into one which may have prompted a friend from saying something similar to that effect when I bumped into her in the mall 4 months ago. And I only smiled and responded with oh-i-couldn't-have-cared-less shrug...but old hag! what a scary,scary thought!) and money (MORE for Matt’s needs and occasional wants). And also, being a first-hand mother to Matt (attends to, plays and sleeps with him), I find it reasonable to be cautious as any contact of unnecessary beauty product (a smell, a lick) might be harmful to a developing infant/toddler. This also protects me from getting exposed to carcinogens (some products may contain cancer-causing chemicals).

That’s why. And these days, I only have a limited number of beauty products in my bag: a lip balm, perfume and a lotion (which I sometimes forget to exist in my bag and forget to use them even when necessary, ick!). I do not need more because I still think nothing beats this very cheap and time-saving maintenance, consisting of: a goodnight sleep (does wonder to the skin but I don’t usually get these except these recent 6 nights); water (helps immensely and is very cheap!) and a happy heart (keeps one aglow, generally!).


But this evening, on my way to buying stomach must-haves, I glanced in the direction of a beauty product line outlet, hanging on its window was the sign that reads 50% OFF. Out of curiosity, I sauntered and looked over their products (although I’m already familiar with some of them). In all fairness, their products are widely used and reasonably priced. To make things short, I got tempted. And oh, I did something silly like giving in to the insanity of buying some.

Even as of this writing, I am not sure whether I will be able to use them. Or that I will just find them in my sister’s kikay kit one day. I would like to think that I do not need them (do I? heheh)..But maybe..just maybe, I might just use some to stop the old hag from showing her head, or should I say, to contain the old hag under a polished veneer!

OMG!

I thought Makati is one secured place. So they said. And so I thought. I used to feel safer here than in any place in Metro Manila.

But maybe not now.

Just this morning, the Switch guy from Cebu, the same guy I went to work with last Monday, was mugged in one of the carparks on his way to the office. In broad daylight,with the security guards and their canine buddies prowling in the area. He was attacked by 2 men who was pretending to be lost and in dire need for some directions (modus operandi).

Earlier..I had peered through the window near the elevator as I waited for the lift when I saw the Switch guy already ambling in the walkway just across the hotel. That minute, I remembered wondering why he hasn’t sent me a message so we would go to the office together. By the time I got out of the hotel entrance, I guess I was only a little over 5 minutes behind him. Turning in a carpark, I really freaked out when I came unto him with a guard already applying first aid to his bleeding nose (a half inch cut at the left side of his nose) and swollen face (bruised lower lip and cheeks from the punches delivered by his attackers). Poor guy. But to think the he is a burly 6-footer who may weigh about 150kg. But that fact didn’t deter these bad people, who might have been lurking in the shadows of these cars, from pouncing and attempting to rob and hurt him. How much more for a girl of petite frame and who barely reached 5 feet?

I was not sure whether I should be grateful that he didn’t ask to walk with me to the office. Oh well, I was actually grateful (although I felt guilty thinking that way). What would have happened if we went to the office together? Would they attack me too? Or what if I had been few minutes ahead of him? That morning I would have gone earlier had I not been stalled in my room because by my friend’s sister…What if….? Endless what ifs and probabilities were running in my mind as I almost flew my way to the office that day. I really wished that at the end was not the Tower but my parent's house. I wanted my training to be over. I longed to go home. Back to my comfort zone. Back to the loving arms of my son.

After the training, we –me and the Switch guy- used the other route back to the hotel. But I couldn't help looking over my shoulders every second to check for some suspicious-looking individuals who may be creeping around and ready to pounce on unsuspecting victims! Ah yes, this is the Philippines after all. One cannot be too careful.

Alive!

Low points:

Got in late in the office because I walked my way to the office as if I had all the time in the world, imagine a "slow motion" movie. Hah, trying not to repeat yesterday's ordeal, sweat and all, at the cost of looking so unprofessional. So wrong!

I got lost in the maze of shops in Greenbelt because I was looking for some shop that sells something for the working hand. I have strolled among the A-B crowd of this country feeling like an outsider. Down the string of bars and restos, escalator after escalator,and back again. The persons I asked directions (the guards, salesladies, attendants) were giving me the wrong infos. Feeling defeated, I came back to the hotel.

Highlights:

I dropped by the bookstore again. And had the time of my life reading some books. Ah, I'm such a sucker for books. And although reading for free is a no-no in some bookstores in this country, some actually tolerates it (good!). This habit is a hang-up from college days when we would raid some bookstore just to pass time and read some (saves us from spending cash on books!). I came out with a book for me and another for Matt.

And another highlight is..I found out I can blog again! Not just view my blog but make posts (another wireless tech I'm so grateful for). Monday, I tried to do this but I was unsuccessful. I am sooo ecstatic now. I could happily blog til the morning...

Recall..

Sunday, Mar11:

I boarded the plane with a heavy heart. The flight was uneventful except for times when I tried to hold back tears while in the plane (twice!). These instances were: when the flight attendant officially announced our flight to Manila while still in CDO airport and when the pilot announced our arrival as the plane taxied on the tarmac in MIA.

I had invited a friend and her sister for a sleep-over in my hotel room, in advance. To keep me company. Unfortunately, they weren't able to join me after I checked in the Prince Plaza 2. But I cannot allow myself to wallow in misery, so I did what a girl needs to do: I strolled to the nearest mall, some 20 meters away from the hotel's entrance, with the intent to window shop..and got lost in the thick crowd. Literally.

I got lost while trying to retrace my steps back to the hotel. I had gotten myself too engrossed scanning the rows and rows of books, skimming through some of them in a bookshop (in my hope to turn feelings of negativity to something very positive) that I completely forgot of the time. I had decided to make best use of my time; and reading is a luxury I rarely allow myself when at home, so I might as well do so while here. But I guess I had gone overboard (smirk!) that I had to take the long and unfamiliar route because by the time I was done with the bookstore trip (with a book in hand), the mall entrance nearest to the hotel was already closed.

Wrong turn somewhere brought me outside to a deserted street. As I wander in the complex, I carefully looked skyward to make out the hotel building among these giants, but the buildings outlining the sky seem unfamiliar and unpromising. Anxiously, I quickened my pace, scared of getting mugged in a dark corner. The only comforting thought I had was the fact that I was walking in the streets of the business center of the Philippines (Makati). And although not 100% assured, I could at least calm my nerves and think that if there’s one place gov’t peeps make an effort to secure, this would be it; otherwise it would affect the business climate in the country. After making few stops to ask the way to the hotel, I found myself breathing normally in my room at past 9PM. It’s also at this time that I discovered I had a missed call from hubby.




Monday, Mar 12:

The office from my hotel is a 15min walk. We – me and a switch guy from Cebu who is also attending the same training – walked our way to the office. We easily merged into the throng of mostly professionals (job-seekers and the employed lot, alike) in a walkway (which passes through carparks after carparks) just across the hotel to an underpass, that brought us in our company’s main office, the Tower.

The training (first day) was a whirlwind undefined and I found out that I need to practise more on Linux. (If I can find time when I get back home.)

At the end of the day, I walked back to the hotel alone because the guy from Cebu went back ahead of time (we were checked-in in the same hotel). And although I felt I could use some company on my way to the hotel, I told myself that I just have to get used to walking alone this same route and back for the next 10days (and memorize the route to keep myself from making wrong turns as I did today) . While I passed buildings after building, the thought that I’d be seeing my brother (from Abra) tonight was making my steps lighter and quicker.

Tuesday, Mar 13.

My brother slept in my hotel room last night. Good thing because the internet wasn’t so helpful (I ran out of patience because I couldn’t make posts in my blog..heheh). But I’m happy that we have had the time to catch up on each other’s lives (he only comes home once a year, usually during December).

He’s going back to the province tonight and I’m glad my friend (and her sister) will be staying with me in the hotel. Actually they’ll be staying/sleeping in my room in daytime because they will work (as call center agents) at night. My friend goes to work few minutes before midnight and her sister, at 9PM. So at least by the time they go to work, I’ll be so sleepy that I will no longer have the time to feel lonely.
*******
I walked to work alone. You should have seen me huffing and puffing on the way to the Tower, all because of trying to reach the building at the shortest possible time (just for kicks!). And then I made a wrong turn in the underpass (where there are 4 points of exit/entrance) near my office, which brought me in the other side of my destination. I was forced to find somebody among the scurrying pedestrians and ask for some direction.

Going up the 33rd floor (where our training is held), I swore I looked so flushed in the face that you could play “spot-the-difference” in the elevator and surely in less than a sec, you would spot me standing out among the crowd like a red ripe tomato. And with the grains of sweat forming in my forehead, I did stick out prominently like a sore thumb.

2nd day of training wrapped up before 5PM and I headed straight to the hotel all by myself (without missing a turn).

random thoughts

Very early this morning, I lie in bed staring at the shadows on the ceiling...Immobile.. And I keep on thinking that far across the continent my husband is doing the same. The irony is he must have been so excited to board his flight of the day (back to the Philippines), looking forward to the next few hours; while I'm here trying not to dwell on my flight in the afternoon that will bring me away from Matt, and willing myself to stop thinking of lonely thoughts..

I am working against time...but I promise myself not to cry (although I'm already in the verge of giving in to refreshing tears this morning while cleaning our room)..

I will terribly miss my son. I am already aching now..Few more hours and I will be boarding my flight... Argh, I am an emotional wreck.

*****

Happy wedding anniversary to my husband of three years.

Thanks for always telling me you love me…even if I’m mad and difficult and even if you feel bad..

Thanks for the patience, for being the 1st one to give in and the last one to complain.

Thanks for the humor, the saving grace when we are in an uncomfortable situation like me going ballistic.

And thanks for always taking care of our needs. I love you very much.

Senti

Today, I wanted to be like Hiro Nakamura (a character from the series Heroes who can teleport to the future and back, and can beat time and space). I wanted to freeze time, to stop it ticking to the next day, when I will be boarding the plane that would take me away from my son for 2 weeks!

Today, I repeatedly told my son that he will not be able to see Mama for 2 weeks, that I won’t be sleeping with him starting tomorrow night. He just stared at me. I told him to think that Mama will be thinking of him everyday even if he couldn’t see me; and when he sees his Pooh Bear, to just think that Mama is with him. To which he responded by picking up and hugging his bear (his version of hugging is crushing the bear under his weight, wrestling type).

Some thoughts

There’s no occasion but I feel that I need to treat my parents to fine dining. In my growing up years, we never do this because dining out was a luxury we cannot afford what with 5 kids going to school (raising money to send us to school was the main concern of my parents then and trust me, we barely had enough cash even for some needs).
Now, even if I still consider dining out a luxury (and I am not moneyed enough for this extravagance..but maybe, once in a while), I can always adjust my budget and come up with an excuse to be extravagant esp. when it comes to my parents who have sacrificed far more of their needs so that our (me and my siblings) needs will be met. Now that’s reason enough to celebrate, right?

Café Laguna. Sumptuous meal. A perfect treat to the palate. My parents love their mouth-watering dishes (and seeing them beaming with joy is worth every peso I spent, so I’d rather forget about the amount).

++++++++++++++++ +++++++++++++

After our lunch, we headed to the grocery store to purchase some groceries and we spotted the AOWA salesmen (holding out coupons to shoppers) again. I have been planning of making copies of the “complaints” I’ve read in the Internet about them and handing the copies to these salesmen (I would like to see the look on their faces, given the situation) but I totally forgot to bring printed copies (some other time, I promised myself to do just that).

Now seeing them makes me think that there’s a lot to be thankful for in my life.
My job, for one. I am so blessed that I am not in those salesmen shoes. That I have a dignified job (although sometimes it bores me) with a pretty decent company that pays us well, Pilipinas-standard (because outside the Phils., I know telco peeps are paid more so let me turn a blind eye for now..heheh..just for this particular post) is one of the many things to be thankful for.

Indeed, life in the Philippines is real hard; anybody would make a shot at deceiving people just so they will survive.

Of yet

Roundtrip tickets, issued. Hotel accommodation, confirmed. Me, panic-stricken.

Why?

As the date of my flight (to Manila) nears, I am filled with worry. How will I survive the long lonely nights in a hotel room with only the TV (and a laptop) to accompany me?

I have a hard time sleeping. Because when I close my eyes, I would envision myself all alone in a neat hotel room in Manila. The orderliness bothers me (I am so used waking up with our room in shambles). The quietness gives me the goose bumps (I feel secured hearing the loud squeals and boisterous laughter of my son everyday). Security locks in the room makes me edgy (security is seeing and touching the people I love most everyday). I will have all the time in the world but I am unhappy and tense (relaxation is trying to beat the time and finish my chores while Matt is asleep).

And I blink hard and open my eyes, scanning the toys, books, pillows that litter our room. Seeing Matt’s Pooh Bear is comforting beyond compare! I lie awake for a longer period, scared that if I close my eyes again I will see a bleak picture of myself.

Part2: Beware!

This might come in handy. So I'm sharing lessons I learned the hard way.

Tips/Notes/Analysis:

- Be suspicious to over enthusiastic salesmen. That man from AOWA was super enthusiastic while making a scripted too-good-to-be-true offer, looking unnatural and almost foolish; but he has to improve his acting and his script.LOL.
- Be suspicious to too-good-to-be-true offers. Don’t be conned into believing to high interest rates and high return of your investment (usually networking schemes). Be contented with small yet stable and reliable returns.

- Trust your instinct (and my instinct says there’s something shady with the man opening the boxes one by one with the pretext of just inspecting the mugs; if the sole intention is to give, then everything should have been handed to us. Why, oh, why would a salesman open--trying not to get noticed in the process of doing so-- the boxes if there’s nothing in there except a mug?

- No legit company would offer 3 products for free if each of their products is reasonably priced. I cannot think of Sony, for example, doing this.(Man from AOWA offered us 2 products for free, even changed it to 3, saying the additional 1 product free is because of the points we would earn if we use a credit card. What?!? As if I didn’t read the credit-card company mechanics!

- And again, no legit company would offer a free anything with a silent “if” at the end. i.e. Win 100k prize, “if” you purchase this or that!

- Why would you show your prospective clients the Official Receipts of the sales you made (deciding on the thickness of the pad of ORs, their clients were sparse in number..and to think these are ORs issued since the start of this year)? If this is not a desperate move, of trying to prove that he is making an offer of a lifetime and that they have clients too, then tell me what it is. So why does that man from AOWA feel he need to prove anything?

- If already suspicious, keep your questions to yourself and leave ASAP. It is pointless to stay and ask questions because the people there will always do what they are paid to do: trick you into false beliefs until you give in and they get what they want from you. (As I said we lost precious time and we were already starving when we walked out of their showroom!)

- Given that we must have looked dumb (why else would the salesperson give us the coupon at the entrance of the mall if we didn’t look like willing victims to their sham store), but we’re not completely naïve.

ME: I am not all-knowing (and cannot pretend to be otherwise) but what little I have (applies to material and nonmaterial), I use conscientiously. And I learned that the moment a person starts to think he knows everything is the start of his doom. I believe (thinking you know everything) is the dumbest thought one can conceive.

And what I do know is I will always need help. That is why I ask – opinions of the people who matters to me and the people who knows. Be it on matters of little importance or to life-changing ones. I read, almost anything (although my memory plays trick on me sometimes), reviews ( when I wanted to buy make comparisons), baby books (read it with my son), atbp. And I research. Small things, big things.

BEING ME: A couple of days after the mall incident, I did run a search in the internet about AOWA and their product lines and I chanced on this site with similar complaints of AOWA’s underhanded marketing manipulation.


And I think to myself, we’re so lucky that we read GOD’s signs correctly that day in the mall.

Part 1: Beware!

Among other things, we usually hit the road and buy groceries during one of my days-off (Friday or Saturday). Last Friday was no exception. We went to the mall with the intention of buying groceries and eating lunch as it’s already lunchtime.

However, we were sidetracked by a salesperson from one appliance company in the mall, AOWA. We –my ma and I- were given coupons for redemption at their outlet, no fee needed. Since it was just near a store we frequent, we decided to drop by the outlet, thinking that we’ve got nothing to lose in the process. (In reality, we lost precious time! Almost 2 hours!).

Mugs in boxes. Got these for free after signing in our names. But that’s not the end of story (that is just the beginning of their devious marketing strategy).We were shown their products..One of these was the electronic foot massager, which my father tried, upon the encouragement of the salesman. Things became fishy when in the middle of this “trial”, the sales person opened the box containing the mugs and pretended to be surprised at the sight of a rolled paper inside the box. It was supposed to be a coupon of some promo they had last Christmas. And the man prompted me to open it (while saying that he is not aware of this since all he knew was that the coupon was a Christmas promo..blah blah..).

What the coupon said was we won 1 sound system set (man trying to be so surprised, ecstatic said he has to call main office and ask if we can avail of this since he’s not aware that promo period was extended..). He even insisted that I speak with their so-called main office personnel (who wants us to believe that she’s speaking to me for verification-sake i.e confirm if I’m related to the salesman ..etc..).

Catch: To avail of the free sound system, we need to buy 1 item from their product list. By the way, the prices of their products are way too expensive, in 38K-49k range. Sound system costs within that range too.

I listened to the salesman with skepticism building everytime he opened his mouth.

We’ve heard of text/internet scams, networking schemes and other similar schemes with the intention of shortchanging their clients. I have been a victim to one of these years ago (when I was still immature with matters concerning “money and finances”) and my only consolation that time was I lost far lesser amount of cash than the people I know who invested in that networking company. They were speaking of millions, half-millions, hundreds of thousand of money coming from retirement or stint abroad! Lucky me, what I lost then, I was able to save much more of that amount in the bank the same year. Since then, I have learned to be wary and not to fall prey with people who operate fraudulent businesses, ever again. Hard lesson but I learned it well (I would like to think so..haha).

Grateful feet

I am so into wearing slippers these days. You bet that I don’t just wear them at home. I also wear them to church, to the mall, and to work. Yes, I am so glad I can wear this in the office. They are so handy and they bring me to places these days (and expect that I will be bringing one in my upcoming trip).

I started wearing slippers in the office when I was pregnant (and so cautious). I traded my rubber shoes and low-heeled pumps with a pair of cute Nike, apple green in color that my husband bought for me when he came home after a business trip. I had loved it and expected to get my (actually my hubby’s :p) money’s worth but it didn’t last that long, hardly a year. One of the pair (I couldn’t exactly remember whether it’s the left or right) gave up on me. I still kept the other pair though, for old times’ sake.

I also have tried lighter, thinner Old Navy slippers. But they easily wear out.

Now my penchant for slippers brought me to a local outlet in my place which sells slippers like pancakes. This led me to discover the comforts of wearing a Havaianas. And I’ve switched to Havaianas slip-ons since then.

Like most slippers, they are soft, airy and comfortable (no need to worry about getting blisters on your toes). But unlike most brands, Havaianas’ line is so trendy and colorful; and with a variety of styles and designs to choose from. Boring me likes their plains. But if you're the adventurous and bubbly type, you may opt for upbeat colors and designs which come aplenty. They even have something for toddlers, slippers with a strap at the back to hold the feet in place (but which I don’t recommend because from my experience, it still keeps slippng off my son’s feet despite the strap). And I believe they are durable, too.

I am not paid for this.. but brothers and sisters, if you have a fondness for slippers, go check www.havaianas.com. Or run to the nearest footwear shop in your area and see if they have stocks, you might just be lucky like me.

Candy

My father paid me a compliment regarding my driving ability last night. Fine. Cool.

But waaaaaaaa, I cannot play cool and just forget about it. Feels good. Because my father doesn’t give compliments just so he can please you (or that you will be pleased). Truth is, it means a lot to me especially that it is coming from my No. 1 critic. So let me bask in the warmth of his praise even for just a moment.

Talk about bolstering my courage. Really, it gives me enough courage to continue to take the wheel and drive during peak hours. I’m really not so keen on driving at this time when you are bumper-to-bumper and door-to-door with other motorists, and more so because I am in a place where discipline is the last thing on every driver’s mind and “yield” seem to be a foreign term. Believe me, it is a frightening feat to drive around a city, swarming with drivers who think and drive like they are the “king of the road.”

And that is why I always pick the time of the day when to drive (usually early morning if within the city). And where. And my father added in his no-nonsense tone that this shouldn’t be the case if I wanted to be as adept in driving.

Months ago, when I was still in the Field Ops, I would only agree to driving when we are like more than 30 kms from the city (where you don’t constantly shift gears and step on the brakes). Most of the time, however, my male companion would automatically assume the driver’s seat (and I didn’t mind one bit because it saved us time and asses, mine included!). But I know sooner or later, I will have to muster enough courage to take control of the steering wheel.

And now is the “sooner or later.” I cannot stall more time because weeks ago, my boss insisted that I take the company’s driving accreditation again. No specific date yet, but then I have to be prepared.

I am still not comfortable driving through the traffic in the city. I still tense at the sight of trucks and buses alongside me. But I believe I am learning to slowly conquer myself (fear and all) and the road as well.

Oh!

Got news from hubby that says he is coming back on the March 11. Expected time of arrival (from Japan to Cebu ) is past 7PM.

I am scheduled to board a flight bound for Manila on March 11, 3PM (the last flight of the day from CDO, my usual pick).

March 11 is our wedding anniversary.