The World of Second Chances

The Good In Good-bye

February 22, 2016

Life & Love

When I was younger, I used to get hurt over people leaving me. Good-bye was something that I hated. The pain was too much for me to handle. I felt useless.

Somebody from grade school asked me if we could be friends then. I gave her my best but unfortunately, she thought that the friendship was a mismatch. She wrote me a letter to tell me that the friendship was over. I did not cry; I just accepted that maybe, we were really a mismatch.

Two decades later, the friendship was rekindled and I thought that being adults, we could establish a deeper level of friendship this time. I had the best times of my life in her company. Then we got busy with our personal lives and never resumed the friendship. In my heart, I knew it was her second good-bye. I was very hurt the second time she turned her back on me.

She was not the first to say good-bye to me. Include my ex-boyfriend and the people who I thought considered me as part of their life. I was very emotional before about good-byes.

Now that I’m older, I realize that there is actually good in good-bye. If two people can’t connect with each other and only one is willing to compromise, it’s better to say good-bye. Somebody much deserving will be given to replace them.

The good in good-bye is accepting that there’s nothing we can do to make a person stay and those who stayed deserve our love and loyalty. Don’t cry over those who left. Rejoice over those who stayed.
Dutche Chocolate Bar

February 22, 2016

Career, Finance & Product

Packaging is good. I actually mistook it for a foreign brand.

Price- Affordable. This one costs between PhP50-80 depending on where you bought it.

Aroma- It doesn’t have that rich chocolate aroma.

Taste- Not sugary for a chocolate bar and I prefer it that way but I can’t taste the richness of the cocoa. I don’t feel like eating a chocolate bar at all.

Texture- Comparable to the chocolate bars that are being melted for the choco mallows.

Suggestion for improvement: Your packaging is good but you need to improve on the taste. When I speak of a local chocolate bar, Serg is still the best among them. Unfortunately, Serg closed its factory a long time ago. Get somebody from Serg as product quality consultant.
The Good in Not Being on the Frontline

February 18, 2016

Career, Finance & Product

I used to feel bad about not being given the project team leader role because I used to equate excellence with being on the front line. I used to complain silently about how I wanted to do things my way instead of being a follower. Not that I didn’t get leadership roles anymore as there were still projects under my championship but I ached for BIG projects that could spell a difference in terms of my annual salary increase and bonus.

I was that competitive in terms of financial reward and there were times when I would approach my boss to tell him that I thought I deserved a better grade/increase/promotion.

2015 gave me the chance to work with challenging projects and it opened my eyes on the right behavior and expectations. I realize that despite the failure of my project last year, I am still calm and unassuming; a behavior that is quite different two years ago when I fought for my project and justified that it really worked just because I expected a high salary increase and bonus.

One of the executives here said that more than getting the Most Valuable Player award, the championship is more important. He said that employees who eye the MVP are those who anticipate for the reward while employees who aim to be champions are those who are after enhancing their skills. I think I belong now to those employees who aim to be champion.

Like what I said earlier, 2015 gave me the chance to be a better engineer in terms of job performance and because I do not work on the front line, I have the liberty to do things that I enjoy at work like polishing my skills without thinking of the next meeting or conference.

Being not on the front line excuses me for going home at 5:00 PM if I want to. I have more time with my children and I am very hands on to them. I can read books on the weekend without checking my company email for updates. I can go on vacation leave because I don’t belong to any group who regularly meet with the executives.
Elison Hotel in Balanga City

February 16, 2016

Travel
Advantages:
1. Located right at the heart of Balanga City. Just a few minutes away from the Genesis Bus Terminal and provincial bus and jeep terminal. Just a few meters away from the plaza, mall and place of worship (Balanga Cathedral and Iglesia ni Cristo).
2. Privacy- each room is similar to an studio-type unit sans the kitchen.
3. Security- guard on duty takes his job seriously. Female visitors are not allowed to go directly to the room of the person she’s visiting; she has to wait at the reception area.
4. Swimming pool- if your purpose is just to relax, the small pool is just right for you.
5. Attitude of Staff- the old man at the reception area gives you the feeling of security.
6. Hot and cold shower is available.
7. Cold aircon.
8. Sound-proof room. This came as a relief for us because of my noisy kids!
Disadvantages:
1. If you are budget-conscious and travelling alone, price starts at PhP 1,200. Since we are travelling as a family, we took a double de luxe at PhP 1,350 + PhP200 for the extra bed. I am okay with the price because it’s like paying PhP 370 per person.
2. Bed sheet and blanket are too thin. Don’t expect comforters here.
3. Don’t expect a state of the art carpeted room or a bathtub at the restroom.
Burn

February 2, 2016

Life & Love

In relation to my previous post about the photo album that I intend to deliver to my ex through a common friend, my final decision is to burn it when I get home later.

I don’t need to keep an item that’s not even mine in the first place. If the owner does not want it back, I don’t want it and I don’t need it either. It’s not my memory for me to keep. I had the best intention for giving it back to him but it seemed that his party misinterpreted it.

Anyway, you might ask why should I use a middleman to send the album back. In 2011, I offered to send it back to him but we did not agree on some things like where to send it and to whom should I send it. Logically, my name couldn’t be seen on the sender part because his wife might misinterpret it. A meet up was not possible because to be honest, while I missed the person during those times, my values as a married woman held me back.

So last Thursday, while running through some stuff, I saw his green album again and decided to let it go forever. This is kind of symbolic because I intend to let go of the person as well. Not that I haven’t moved on because I already did a year and a half after the break-up but I want him to be totally out of my life. I guess that the feeling is mutual; our family has something to do with it. No, my husband is never mad at him or at the other ex–I am fortunate to have found a very secured man who does not give a damn about my exes.

Let’s just put it this way—people move on and let go at different time phase. If a person does not cherish anymore an item that reminds him/her of an ex and consider it as clutter, then that person has totally eliminated that affection from his/her system.
My Ex’s Photo Album

January 29, 2016

Life & Love

He was probably so in love with me before so he asked me to safekeep his photo album containing his childhood photos with his family and his photos with his officemates.

I was probably so in love with him even after the break-up so I took care of his photo album.

In 2011, I asked him if he wanted to have it back but it didn’t push through for a number of reasons. Maybe I was still emotionally attached to him and losing his childhood photos would mean a disconnect from his life so I didn’t push the idea.

I’ve been keeping the album for 9 years now after the break up. Coincidentally, it was on a cold January morning when he said it was over between us. It took me a total of 9 years to finally accept and move on with my life without traces of his memory.

It’s not that ours was a tragic love story as there were good times, too. But I stopped caring about his memory and its preservation. It’s not that I hate him, I just moved on without a trace of hurt or bitterness.

I asked a common friend if he wanted to be the middleman for the package but he seemed apprehensive because he was afraid that my ex would take it negatively. I told him to ask my ex if he wanted his album back or I’ll just burn it because I don’t need it either.

His album is not for me to keep. Being a sentimental person, I assumed that his wife and kid/s would love to see his childhood through the photos. But if my ex says that the album is no longer important to him, then I’ll do the honor of burning it to kill the memories it brings to the real owner and the keeper.
Belladonna Bag

January 28, 2016

Career, Finance & Product

Affordable and chic.

I seldom buy bag. Correction, I seldom buy any stuff unless I really need to replace an old one. Most of the bags that I use were hand-me-downs from my late mother. She had good taste in bag and she was a BIG bag lover so she left me with more than thirty bags. Out of those bags, I only took around five bags–the rest were given to family and friends as souvenir.

I was looking for a good bag; one that can fit in my folding umbrella, make up kit, wallet, coin purse and reading glasses. A good bag for me is one that is water resistant, has durable strap and one that can stand. Of course, a Louis Vuitton is out of the question though I’m tempted to buy a Neverfull. Yeah, Neverfull is so old school for LV lovers but I’m not really into designer stuff and it’s the model that I am most comfortable with. I guess that’s another story because in the end, I chose to find another bag and put my hard-earned money into better use.

I found this peach Belladonna bag on the lowest portion of the rack. If you would not bother to look at each bags per layer, you wouldn’t notice this hidden gem just waiting to be discovered. The body is trapezoidal and can fit in my stuff neatly into three compartments. The handle looks durable and the color is very feminine. There’s a mini-bag to complement it and I use it during days of worship. Without looking at the tag price, I thought I would have paid around PhP 5,000 but hey, I got this bag on a sale so I only paid around PhP1,200; original price was around PhP2,500.

If you are a student or somebody who prioritizes putting her money to better use, you might want to try a Belladonna. 🙂