The World of Second Chances

Must Try: Browipes Masculine Wipe

April 25, 2018

Career, Finance & Product

Going to the grocery has always been assigned to me since I can’t remember when. When I was young, I was always careful when it comes to buying grocery items for my father.

“Tet (my nickname at the province), why did you buy this shampoo? It’s too feminine! Tet, why did you choose this powder? I smell funny! Tet, I’d rather use Perla than these fragrant soaps!” —- my father!

Secretly, I hated his being demanding. What’s so different with soap, shampoo or even powder aside from their scent?

Fast-forward to married life, nothing has changed much because I’m still the one going to the grocery to buy items for the family.

At home, we have three sets of items: my grocery items, the kids’ and my husband’s. When we were just starting, I had the same secret resentment because what’s so different with soap, shampoo and even powder, anyway?

The answer is, our men need to celebrate their masculinity, too in the same way that we, women are encouraging girl power. It is the same analogy when it comes to buying other products that have a unisex availability like wipes or more popularly referred to as baby wipes. If a man wants to smell manly, he wouldn’t use baby wipes. Hey, there’s a masculine wipe available in the market, in case you don’t know!

So I ordered a box of Browipes and there comes 30 individually-wrapped wipes. Each wipe costs PhP10.00 and some might wonder why it costs almost thrice the leading baby wipes brand. It all boils down to the type of material used in the production. Browipes is flushable, hence, environment-friendly. It is as soft as a tissue so I recommend to use some layers of dry tissue when using the toilet to avoid the risk of germ contamination.

It is perfect for travellers and it leaves a mild masculine scent on the skin. When water and soap are not available, one can just wipe away facial dirt to refresh one’s aura.

Browipes is inclined to target men who are confidently handsome with a heart. I likened it to Pia Wurtzbach’s famous line because I believe that it is time that we let our men to explore products that will make them happy. It is just like this: a woman can choose to use oil-absorbing film versus plain tissue to remove excess oil on her face. In choosing to use an oil-absorbing film, that woman prioritizes style over practicality and there’s no harm done especially if she’s economically secure. Now, why can’t we let our men find their sense of style as long as he can afford it?

See that logo?

30 sachets in a box.

Back of the sachet.

Front of the sachet.

Soooo soft!

Yes, it is flushable!
Jealousy Kills

April 21, 2018

Life & Love

An employee of SM Marilao was killed by her husband in fit of jealousy over a text message. The victim was severely beaten that caused her death. The suspect is still at large.

I do not know them personally and I don’t care if there’s some truth to the cause of his jealousy because killing (paricide, at that!) someone is not the solution to one’s damaged ego! I bet that this was not the first time he ever laid his hand on his wife.

Jealousy is a powerful emotion just like envy. A jealous person has no peace of mind, actually. He often thinks that his partner is cheating even when there is nothing to be worried of. His self-esteem is below zero that’s why he needs constant assurance of her love. Younger women blush at the sight of their lover’s jealousy because they equate it to true love. True love is never suffocating; it is even liberating. A woman with a jealous partner always walks on thin ice.

A jealous person’s insecurity is like a bottomless pit. No matter what the woman does for her jealous partner, she can never take his insecurity away especially if the man like in the story above is a jobless or unproductive bum. But there are some who are so successful and yet so jealous. When jealousy strikes, they take another woman to compensate for their low self-esteem.

If a man hits you the first time and asks for forgiveness, maybe you can forgive. If he hits you the second time, prepare an escape plan. Do not wait for the third time because the third time can be your last moment.

For the neighbors and other family members, when too much is too much, remember RA9262. You might be ruining a relationship but at least you’re saving a life.
From Moment to Memory

April 1, 2018

Life & Love

A moment becomes valuable when it comes a memory.

All of us are guilty of it, one way or another.

When somebody tried to reconnect with us, we become paranoid, defensive and accusatory that that person just need something from us. This is most of the time correct but they need us in terms of emotional connection and not the usual financial assistance that all of us are allergic to.

One of our production workers passed away last night due to motorcycle accident. Some of his friends felt sorry about neglecting his chat messages when he was still alive. It made me go back to the time when my grandmother passed away while I was in another place instead of being with her and my family. I should have stayed but I had other priorities back then.

I also miss talking with my mother. When she was alive, we would start discussing anything under the sun while eating breakfast at 6:30 AM until 9:00 AM. It was just the usual “chikahan at chismisan” between mother and daughter. Whenever I miss her terribly, I go back to the times when she was still with us; a happy reminiscing.

This is the reason why I try hard to connect or reconnect with people; I do not want to miss an opportunity and regret it later. I try so hard to the point of really TRYING so hard; it becomes weird to some of them! Later, I learned that those who want to stay will stay so I should just be cool about it.
It All Goes Back to Sharon Cuneta!

March 29, 2018

That’s Entertainment

I may not be a big fan of Sharon Cuneta but I have always admired her as an actress and as a singer. Her “Sana’y Wala Ng Wakas” never fails to bring tears to my eyes; her rendition will always be the best for me. I grew up watching her movies, too because my mother and my aunt were a big fan of her! Before Jadine and Kathniel, there was ShaGab and their phenomenal loveteam would always be the benchmark for all loveteams; present or future.

Nowadays, bashers are too busy finding faults in her social media posts. Her transparency and frankness are pointed out and as well as her love for posting memories about her ex-flames. Her exes were all good-looking and interesting and they inspired (LOL) me to create this sort of connection arrows just to check somehow if some of them were related or close.

Let’s start with her first boyfriend, Rowell Santiago. He seems to be the most serious and straight-forward among her exes. He has that mysterious appeal and if you are into the silent type of guy, Rowell is the perfect fit. Rowell’s brother is Raymart Santiago who is the estranged husband of Claudine Baretto. Claudine’s sister is Gretchen Baretto who is the ex-girlfriend of Aga Muhlach. Aga is Albert Martinez’ cousin-in-law and Albert is said to be one of Sharon’s ex. In addition, Aga Muhlach is one of Sharon’s male BFF and also the father of Janice De Belen’s firstborn. Janice is Gabby Concepcion’s ex-girlfriend and Gabby is the ex-husband of who else but Sharon Cuneta!

Gabby’s physical attributes never seem to fade. With five beautiful daughters from four different ladies, some would ask why he didn’t make it 15 or 50 to spread the good genes. Gabby is Kris Aquino’s ex-boyfriend and for those who are not yet updated, Kris and Sharon are BFFs lately. Kris used to be a die-hard fan of Randy Santiago who is Rowell’s brother and as I mentioned above, Rowell is Sharon’s ex-boyfriend. Small world! Back to Kris, she is Charlie Cojuangco’s cousin and Charlie is also the Megastar’s ex-boyfriend. Charlie married the late Rio Diaz who used to be a regular cast in the longest-running noontime show, Eat Bulaga where Senator Tito Sotto is one of the main hosts. Tito is married to Helen Gamboa who is the sister of Elaine Gamboa-Cuneta, Sharon’s mom.

As if Kris and Sharon are destined to be BFFs later in life, the same cannot be said during the 90s when both women became involve with the charming Robin Padilla! Calm down, there was no overlapping there. If I remember it right, it was Kris first before Sharon. Robin was the reel and real bad boy during those days and despite Rudy Fernandez’ effort as a peacemaker between him and Richard Gomez, he still threw a punch on the latter’s handsome face! Yes, Richard became one of Sharon’s exes and they made beautiful movies together. Tall, dark and handsome, Sharon hit the jackpot again in the looks department!

Back to Rudy Fernandez, he was one of Sharon’s leading men and hey, he looked so concerned about Robin Padilla. Why? Because the two were relatives and so with Sharon’s BFF, Zsa Zsa Padilla! Zsa Zsa’s great love was Dolphy who was Claudine’s co-star in Home Along the Riles. Eric Quizon was his son and during her teenage years, Kris Aquino was infatuated with him!

The world is a small place after all! (LOL)
If I Would Live My Life Again

March 16, 2018

Poems & Stories

If I would live my life over again, I would still choose to be the same me, a better me.

I would still walk the same pathway but with confidence and caution.

I would still meet the same friends; good friends or bad friends.

I would spend more time with my good friends to create more memories.

And would be understanding to those friends who turned their back on me.

If I would live my life over again, I would still choose my imperfect life.

I would still love the same people but I would have reserved more love for myself.

I would still choose the same parents, siblings, grandparents, cousins, aunts and uncles.

But I would be a better daughter, sister, granddaughter, cousin, niece.

If I would live my life again, my first, second and third love would be the same.

I would never change the circumstances of each affair because if I would live my life

again, I want to have my present kids as my kids for my second life.
You Know You’re Getting Old When…..

March 15, 2018

Wedding & Family Life
2018 Resolution # 2: Loving Mother Nature

January 23, 2018

Life & Love

One of my resolutions for this year is to be an environmentalist. I know it’s a tough job because I’m used to the convenience of doing things that may harm Mother Nature but I need to be a responsible citizen and I hope that I can convince others to take the road to doing what is right.

Since I was a grade-schooler ages ago, the depletion of the ozone layer has always been an academic topic. It has always been discussed in class. In theory, everyone knows about the harmful effects of chemicals and plastics to the ozone layer and yet in actual, a few of us are bent on correcting or even preventing that damage.

My current residence triggered me to consider cutting down the volume of household wastes because garbage collection in our area is only once a week. Waste segregation is nothing new to me because I’ve been practising that since Baguio and Balanga days. The only thing new in my present endeavour is instead of throwing away the wet wastes like vegetable and fruit scraps, I put them in a plastic bag, topped with a little soil, for composting.

I used to burn dried leaves when I was still living in my hometown. I loved the smell of burning leaves in the early hours of the morning! Now, I see dried leaves as a compost mixture.

Our electric bill is normally high during summer months because of the air-conditioner and fans. In grade school, we knew that plants give off oxygen and take carbon dioxide. They also act as natural air coolants because of this. Since space is limited in our residence, what I planted are dwarf trees that can survive in large pots. I am still on the process of completing our mini-garden. For a beginner like me, I planted plants that do not require special care. Small butterflies visit our mini-garden and I love them! I would love to have a vegetable garden but so far, the only one that managed to survive is the bitter gourd. We are not very fond of bitter gourds but we are “forced” to consume them because they’re readily available. Bitter gourd is good for people with high blood sugar and is said to be a good source of iron.

Last holiday, instead of buying a lot of gift wrappers, I recycled the paper shopping bags into gift wrappers and added some personal touch on them. Recycling takes time and is more expensive than buying a ready gift wrapper but throwing usable paper bags is more impractical.

Bottomline, we can all conserve and do something to be an environmentalist. It will take a lot of time and effort but if we will do these things together, the impact is significant.