The World of Second Chances

Sometimes, Distance is Good

December 23, 2011

Life & Love

For the first time in three years, my husband and I are not physically together as he needs to accompany a person who is a middleman of a prospective employer of my father-in-law. My father-in-law is retiring next year and my husband thought that should this employment deal pushes through, it would be for the benefit of my father-in-law.

My father-in-law’s assignment is in Camotes Island; the scenic island that is one and a half hours by boat from mainland Cebu. Cellphone signal is not good in his father’s house so my husband needs to go to the beach to text me or call me up. I can sense that he’s missing Adi so much. I can sense that he’s missing home and I can sense that he’s missing me. I miss him, too.

Sometimes, distance is good in a relationship. When we were together 7 days a week, we took each other for granted. We became very comfortable with each other. We tended to unappreciate each other. I realize that we can make a better loving home by just filling the home with love and laughter. Yes, sometimes, distance is good for us to see what we are overseeing.
Yaya’s Addiction To Unli Call

December 19, 2011

Life & Love

Adi’s now former yaya from the Camotes Island left last Saturday. She stayed with us for four months. She had her first cellphone last October, followed by a second one on the same month.

It is but normal to have disagreements on how to run the household or how to effectively take care of a toddler but in the end, it will always be the parents who have the last say. Adi’s yaya got addicted to unlimitted call; I wouldn’t mind it had I noticed the big difference in her performance.

1. Hiding the mess- Our place is not difficult to maintain as it is just a small apartment with basic furnitures and appliances so I don’t get it why dirt should be hidden below the rug or furniture. The kitchen area was more messy with splatters around the stove, fruit and vegetable peelings that were hidden at the mini-pantry.
2. Staying up late at night- Our house rule is simple; get up at 5AM and go to bed on or before 9PM. The yaya can take a catnap after lunch if she wanted to. Some yayas are on duty 24 hours a day especially if the child’s parents are busy or out of town so it’s safe to say that Adi’s yaya’s workload is lighter as compared to the others that I know. Our yaya’s compensation is even higher than those with a heavier workload. Her addiction to telebabad worsened from middle of November to 2nd week of December. Her work performance got affected, the house was a mess, Adi got painful diaper rashes.

It was last December 15 when my husband finally talked to her about how we felt about her vice. To make the matters worse, she told my husband that she had the intention of leaving the house the following day to go back to the province with her cousin who happened to be her unli callmate. My husband did not tell me about it but I sensed it the moment I saw the new backpack stuffed with her clothes. Still, I gave her the benefit of the doubt that maybe, it was just my intuition.

The following day, while I was having breakfast, she told me that she would be leaving soon. When asked how soon, she told me that she would leave on that same day. Surprised and mad, I talked to her in a high tone stressing how inconsiderate she was for not telling us her plan ahead of time. Whether she would really go back to her province or just find a job in her cousing’s place (Pampanga) is none of my business. It’s even none of my business if she would really go home with her cousin or she would run away with her unli callmate lover. I informed her mother about it but I didn’t get a reply.

I hope to get a better yaya in January. For the meantime, somebody is babysitting Adi while we’re finding a stay-in yaya.
Surviving Organizational Changes

December 7, 2011

Career, Finance & Product

In today’s organization, change is part of management prerogative and economic move. Business survival depends not only on cash flow but its most important asset as well; its workforce. Downsizing happens for cost-cutting reasons so that only the jobs with the major impact on the organization is retained. If the organization needs to keep the current activities or jobs of the laid-off employees, they have the option to hire contractual employees to do these non-core activities.

Reorganization happens when the top management sees that merging two departments or sections would benefit the whole organization. Transferring of people from one department to another is also reorganization and even the dissolution of a department or section. The bottomline for all of these is profit; the organization must increase its labor productivity without sacrificing the quality of output.
When Department Heads are transferred to another department or are faced to welcome additional load due to department merging, it’s normal to get upset about it. After all, change, no matter how constant and inevitable it is, is not always welcomed by those affected by it.

How Do We Survive Organizational Change?
1. Always be humble- you’ll never know what you’ll be or the people you’re working with tomorrow. It’s important to create rapport to your co-employees because you’ll never know that the person you loathed so much in the office will be your boss tomorrow. Keep a low profile at the office. Do not abuse your privilege.
2. Be an asset- nobody wants to work with a liability. An asset employee is one who is reliable and open to new jobs or responsibilities.
3. Be positive- reorganization is not a personal attack against you. Remember that the company’s objective is to make profit.
4. Do not badmouth the company-you’ll only appear bitter and bitter people are perceived to be losers.
5. Take advantage of the reorganization to sharpen your saw, assess your skill set and career plans.
Great Find: Gigi Amore Bra

November 28, 2011

Career, Finance & Product

My eyes and budget are fixated on Avon bra. It’s cheaper than the leading brand of bra in the Philippine market and quality-wise, I’m satisfied. I’ve been using Avon bra since I was in college. Life span of an Avon bra is 3-5 years.

I chanced upon a Gigi Amore bra last Saturday in Mall of Asia. I was supposed to buy Triumph bra, my second brand of preference but there was no available size for me. My husband suggested to buy a Wacoal but I don’t want lacy bras; the soft cottony one was out of stock. So I ended up examining the fabric, form and style of Gigi Amore bra. The padding was cottony soft and the strap was strong enough to support my breasts. I got the bra for only PhP 150, 50% discount! Normally, I would spend PhP500-800 per bra so Gigi Amore is a great find!

I will give feedback on Gigi Amore’s quality after six months. It’s too early to tell if it’s comparable to Avon or not. 😉

Update as of January 12, 2013:
After a year of using Gigi Amore bra, it’s still in good condition but the quality is not comparable to Avon bras. While the strap is still in good condition, the sides lost its elasticity so it rolled inward (imagine a 3 cm width strap that shrinked to 1.5 cm.). The cup padding became uneven after a mild machine wash so I recommend to just handwash it. But generally, the bra is still in wearable condition but the quality is not as good as Avon or Triumph.
Buzz Lightyear Toy

November 22, 2011

Life & Love

My toddler is an avid fan of Toy Story series. He is particularly interested on Buzz Lightyear. I got excited when I saw a Buzz Lightyear on the toy section of Landmark. The toy is about 5-inches tall and is said to be capable of speaking 12 sounds and phrases! I checked on the buttons to test how it functions and I was amazed because I felt like watching Buzz on Toy Story. I was about to put the toy in the shopping basket when my husband noticed the price. Hold on, the toy is priced at less than PhP 5,000! I have the tendency to spoil my kids but I wanted to be reasonable, too, for deciding not to buy my toddler an expensive toy.

My husband and I recalled the life span of Adi’s toys. One of the oldest toys that he still have is a Fischer-Price musical snail with star, triangle and flower-shaped holes. Fischer-Price is known for its durability. Some of Adi’s toy cars either have missing tires or detached body. My toddler belongs to the caterpillar room (refer to Toy Story) as he is still very passionate about playing and has a tendency to break his toys. One toy only lasted half an hour because he threw it in a fit of tantrum. Due to this, we decided not to buy the Buzz Lightyear since PhP 5,000 is a big amount of money to be wasted on a toy that is expected to have a life span of only one day in Adi’s hands.

We saw a miniature of Woody for only PhP 350 and we decided to buy it for Adi. The toddler was very happy with the toy! He even brought Woody to the church for last Sunday’s worship. I realize, does my son really want a Buzz Lightyear or is it us, his parents, who want an expensive toy for him? My son never complains about the price of toys that we get for him. Maybe, deep inside us, we want our son to experience how it is to have a toy as magnificent as a Buzz Lightyear.
Happy Birthday!

November 17, 2011

Life & Love

bday card

May you have good health, more success and happiness in life!

May you always have a positive disposition in life!

May you have many more birthdays to come!

Cheers to another year, I’m looking forward to celebrating your golden year!

Happy birthday!
Birthday On A Budget

November 15, 2011

Life & Love

With a new baby expected next year, we need to save again for his first birthday. The baby’s first birthday is celebrated with more extravagance than the succeeding birthdays. It is the parents’ way of thanking God for taking care of their baby for the most crucial part of his life: the first 12 months.
I am a practical person yet I don’t want to shortchange Adi’s first birthday. My husband and I initially thought of holding the party in Jollibee or Mc Donald’s but our guests would surely find it far. We don’t want our guests to have the alibi that they were not able to come to Adi’s party because Jollibee or Mc Donald’s is far from their place.
We have an acquiantance from the church who is a good cook. His former job was a cook at an international hotel in Makati. We decided to hold Adi’s party at home and stick to a budget.

Checklist of Baby’s First Birthday Party:
1. Theme- Adi loves Mickey Mouse. We decided a Mickey theme for the party.
2. Venue- We held the party at the apartment. I had the garden meticulously cleaned. We rented a tent for PhP 1,500. Chairs, tables and catering utensils at PhP 7,500. Decoration is included except the tarpauline and balloons.
3. Tarpauline- I designed Adi’s tarpauline and had it printed for PhP 250.
4. Balloons- I bought 3 packs of big balloons (12 balloons per pack) and 1 pack of small balloons. Total price was PhP300.
5. Goldilock’s cake with Mickey Theme at PhP2,500.
6. Ice cream cart- rented the cart with 6 gallons of ice cream at PhP 2,500.
7. Cotton candy cart- at PhP 1,500.
8. Adi’s birthday clothes- with Mickey printing, all in all at PhP 600.
9. Food and Drinks budget- Four different viands, rice and dessert for adults and spaghetti, hotdog and brownies for kids- PhP12,000.
10. Give aways- 30 tokens worth 30 pesos each. All in all at PhP900.
11. Party hats good for 30 kids and other design materials- PhP 600.
12. Videoke- PhP 500

Adi’s first birthday party costed us around PhP 30,000+. We had 30 kids and around 70 adults who joined the fun. There was unlimited supply of ice cream and cotton candy. Everybody was happy. It was a joyful celebration.

I know that some caterers charge PhP 250 per head and given our 100 guests on Adi’s birthday party, that would have costed us PhP 25,000. But the venues that we have here are either too expensive (PhP 16,000 per day, no per hour rental) or too far (PhP 4,000 per day). Besides, I think it’s best to celebrate my baby’s first birthday with our neighbors since we consider them as family.