BFF Visit

I've been staying at Gail's place since Tuesday.  I finally came out to visit her.  Bummer that she has work but she managed to get Tuesday and Thursday off.  It's funny, we never ran out of stuff to talk about.  We always end up sleeping at 3 am because we'd be talking and talking.

Sometimes I wonder if I'll ever find someone like her again.  We really get along so well.  My sisters have many friends.  I only have a handful and only one best friend, Gail.  I just wish that she would live closer to me.  She's always moving thanks to her and her hubby's job.  

Anyway, I'm getting the most out of this trip.  I took a picture of her new home and everything inside it but the picture above is my fave.  She already uploaded the photos in her FB but I plan to take more pictures later.  Hoping to upload more photos here.

Live Traffic Feed

It's funny for me that I installed a live traffic feed in my blog when I don't really attract that much visitor.  The few people that visit my blog I'd like to say thank you very much for taking the time.  I'm not really expecting to have a lot of visitor.  When I started this blog, I have no major goals than just to have my own place in the web where I can say what I want to say about anything and nothing and be completely incognito.  But for the few people that stumble upon my piece of web space, I'd like to know where they are from :)

Anyway, if you want to have one of your own, it's really really easy to install.  just check out the right side of my blog and scroll down till you see my live traffic feed widget.  You'll see a link there that says "Get Feedjit Now".  Click on it and it will redirect you to the website.  Follow the instruction there and you'll have your very own live traffic feed.  I assure you, it's really very easy.

Sad but Optimistic

These couple of days was (honestly speaking) depressing.  Trapped in a house for a week due to bad weather and flooding.  Like I said in a previous post, I feel like Rapunzel in my own tower.  Life is tough, I've always known that.  Actually my life is a lot better compared to others but it feels like it's a consolation.  I have things that I would like to do but don't know how to do it.  I guess this is what incomplete feels like.  When you feel incomplete, you also feel frustrated.  When you feel frustrated, you feel trapped.  Many times I read or watch a video about a person beating the odds, sacrificed a lot to do what they want to do and be successful about it.  They probably entered this phase I'm in now.  Oh God, let it be a PHASE.  Let me pass this phase and move on a better phase.

I resigned from my job last March for multiple reasons.  My chat friend thinks I'm crazy for doing it.  I know I am but still.  I could probably state a hundred reasons for resigning and most people would still think I'm crazy for resigning.  They all say the same thing, you should be practical.  If your body is physically telling you how much it hated your job, would you listen?  I was miserable with my last job.  I fell unfulfilled, it had no meaning and I was sick all the time.  The only job that I really loved doing was when I was a communication assistant for an IPRelay company until my body couldn't take the shifting schedule.  The graveyard shift did a number on my health and I was forced to resign since they would not give me a morning schedule even when I presented a doctor's note explaining why the night shift is deteriorating my health.  I didn't want to go but I had to go.

Right now, I'm still figuring out how to attain the things I'd like to do.  Bless my boyfriend, I love him so much.  He's been very supportive and understanding.  Without him, I would have probably broken down months ago.  I just need to figure out what I'm supposed to do.  I know I can.  If others can, I can.  

I know I'll figure it out.  Mumbling and rumbling again but it can be a good thing.

PS

I'm still decided to lose weight and even though the weather tried to dampen my spirits, I have not forgotten. Now that the floods are gone and the weather's better, I start running on Monday!  I can't do it tomorrow because I'll be using tomorrow and onward to clean the house and outside the house.  My goal for the rest of the week?  Clean and fix.  My goal for next week, JOGGING!

Basking in the Sun

First ray of sunshine and the cat's already basking in it.  Apparently, he took my piece of paper and I thought I misplaced it. Bad Cat!

Gail's SMS Request

I don't want to lose this:

From Gail [8/14/2012   16:22]:

(my name) pls nclude dad in ur prayer.he is now confined at d hospital in london due to hemorrhage cause by stroke,hi blood pressure.  Half of his body is paralyzed.  Onel is in bataan,this is such a difficult time for me,for us.  I hope i could see you.

 My reply:

You and your family are always in my prayers. I'd  like to see you too but I don't think it'd be sooner.  I should let the typhoon pass first.  I'll talk to (bf) when he gets home tonight.  Don't worry too much.  I believe your dad is in very capable hands.  I'll see you as soon as I can.

Gail was with me when my dad was dying in the hospital.  It breaks my heart that I can't just leave everything behind and rush to her.  I can't leave without telling bf, he doesn't have his cellphone with him and our city is in typhoon signal number 1.  I don't think it'd be safe for me to travel in bad weather especially since our area is still flooded. 

Dragonfly

I took a shot of this with my nikon coolpix L22.  I have grills on my window.  I was happy to see this little thing cause I rarely see them anymore.  I was also sad because the last time I saw a dragonfly, it was resting on a leaf. I hope when I start my garden, I'd see a lot of this winged insect.

PM and KN and the Monsoon

Today was supposed to be KN's son's christening.  Thanks to the weather, it was postponed.  I have not received news from him.  His location was one hardest hit by floods but I'm sure he is alright.  His sister informed me.

I'm so restless in my little castle.  I can't go out and do stuff.  Thank God for electricity or I'd go insane. I'm so upset that I even told my bf about it.  He reminded me that I am lucky enough to have a house to stay and food to eat when so many other families have moved to evacuation centers.  I felt a little guilty as I know how horrible conditions are in evacuation centers.  No privacy, no space, no clean bathrooms and sometimes no power or food.  

I know I was being selfish but I had my heart set on going to my friends' sons' christenings.  I don't go out much but the few times I do, I try to make the most out of it.  After-all, I've been missing my friends a lot since I resigned in March.

The flood water has gone down a little.  I talked to an operator working on the pumps told me that it might take longer than expected to pump out all the flood water.  He said the rivers are already in spill capacity and they unsure where to dump the flood waters collected.  It was nice of the operator to tell me the truth rather than lying to make me feel better.

My bf occasionally goes out to check and fix stuff outside the house.  Most of my day is spent alone, well not totally alone.  I do have my cat with me but he's not as cheerful as last week.  I've noticed that he's been irritable the last couple of days.  He doesn't let me hold him for long, he won't come to me when I call him and at one point, he almost scratched my hand when I tried to pet him.  I think he's frustrated as much as I am.  

I'm still praying that everything will go back to normal even though the weather bureau stated a new typhoon is approaching.  

Monsoon Hitting Hard

This was taken by my sisters last Tuesday.  It has been raining so hard the past few days and resulted to flood all over the country including where I live.  What's really surprising about this is that there is no storm, just a monsoon.  It's the first time I've ever experienced flooding in a monsoon.  It was even more damaging than Storm Jener.  Major cities and provinces are now in state of calamity.  Fortunately, in our part, electricity  and water was not shut down.  

By my bf's request, I am not to have any part of me in the flood to avoid accident or catch any sickness especially leptopirosis.  Though I understand his worries, I feel like I'm Rapunzel trapped in my tower.  

The flood in our neighborhood have subsided a little but the water is turning darker and stinkier.  It's surprising to see small fishes still swimming around.  I would have taken some pictures but the flood water grosses me out.

I'm still crossing my fingers that the flood would be gone by Monday and it might happen.  Bf tells me our mayor is having the flood water siphoned.   That's something to look forward to ❀

UPS Fraudulent Email Circulating

I've been receiving UPS emails for the past days now.  It's telling me that I'm supposed to receive a package within 5 days.   I was a little skeptical since there was a zip attachment.  I have received packages in the past but not from UPS so I decided to check the tracking number from the UPS site.  No surprise, no such tracking number exist.  Further research revealed that the attachment is a virus.  Below is a screenshot of the email I received.

If you received the same email just please do not open the attachment or better yet, delete the email.  If you want to read more about it, click the ups link: 

http://www.ups.com/content/us/en/about/news/service_updates/20110330_fraud.html

A Hanging Veggie Basket

A small apartment can really make you creative.  I'm always looking for space where I can keep our things.  Hence, organizing is such a need.  Buying cabinets would be the easiest thing to do but since I decided to resign from my job, it's not exactly the easiest thing for me to do.  Like now, I need a place to put my veggies.  I wanted it in a place where I can easily see it and within reach.  That's when I decided to make a hanging veggie basket.

So here's a picture of what I'm going to need.  Of course 3 baskets, it cost Php 15 each.  I'm actually upset with the price cause there's a store that sells it for Php 10 only but the store wasn't open when I got there.  Utility knife or scissors, A ruler and my leftover strings.  See!  I get to use my leftover strings.

Just cut 4 pieces of string long enough for the 3 baskets.  Then tie them on 4 points of your basket.

I inserted a plastic box in between the baskets so I'd get the correct length for the strings before tying them together.  Just continue tying till you get all 3 baskets connected.

And then I tied all the ends of the strings together, attach them to the S shaped hook and hang them on the bar on top of my kitchen sink.  It's not going to hold all my veggies.  It's mainly onions, garlic, tomatoes, ginger, calamansi and other small veggies that I regularly use for cooking.  All in all, I only spent Php 45 for the baskets.  It's actually less than a dollar (US$1 = Php 47).  The other materials I used I already have.

Folding Plastic Bags

Got this idea from this blog.  Lettie's way of folding plastic bags is really really great and easy to follow.  I folded and unfolded and refolded one.  Look see:

 

    

 I have folded 100+ plastic bags so far.

Reusing KFC Plastic Cup (for the mashed potatoes)

Boyfriend driving me insane over the weekend.  He is good with fixing stuff but not so good with organizing.  After he fixes stuff, I am left with the mess.  Actually, he cleans after but he doesn't have a proper place for his things.  When he needs like say this size of screw, he couldn't find it and asks me to help look.  That in turn drives me crazy.  We have a small apartment so space is very limited.  I have to be creative with the containers.  The small things like screws, hooks, tacks and even rubber bands is what he's always looking for.  I dug into my storage and found these little cups.

Yeah, I love take outs, especially when I was working.  Mashed potatoes and coleslaw is my favorite but enough about that because I'm having this evil thought of eating at KFC!

The good thing is they are transparent and can be stacked on top of each other, it'd be easier to see the content.  Can't wait to show him this when he gets home later.

What Is It With Cats and Attention?

I was organizing the books I found from the apartment when my cat just decided to jump on the table demanding for a petting.  It's like he wants me to acknowledge his presence when ever he wants.  It took a while to convince him to stop jumping on the table.  He is such a stubborn kitty cat.

I was sorting out the books and was sad to find out that most of it are ruined.  I was hoping to salvage some for donation.  I'm still not done sorting.

Hearts

Rummaging through the leftovers of our demolished apartment, I found another memory.  It was a college book I bought in 1993.  The other side of the front cover held a double heart shaped sticker.  I know it's corny or in my language "baduy" but bear in mind that I was 16 at the time.  And as most college students are, penniless.  Not able to afford an expensive gift, I aimed for his sweet tooth.  It was a heart shaped box that held 9 pieces of assorted munchkin.  The top of the box held the double heart shaped sticker.  I remember peeling it off and sticking it to my book so to remember the first valentines we had together. 

Oh Michael, you were my first legal boyfriend.  I state LEGAL because he is the first boyfriend my dad knew.  He was also the first to break my heart.  I'm so glad it's all a memory.  I'm very happy with what I have now.  

I Never Tried Planting Before

I've always admired my nana for having a green thumb but in fairness, she used to be a farmer.  She had this backyard filled with plants and trees.  I look outside my apartment and see nothing but a concrete wall and a concrete floor and I really would like to change that.  I'd like to add some green to it and maybe someday add some color to it.  So today, I bought some seeds.

I bought Rosemary, Leaf type lettuce, and Basil.  I really have no idea which plant to buy and these are the only ones I recognize in the store.  Plus, I can plant them first in little pots.  I probably won't use pots and find some sort of container from my storage.  Also, I think my boyfriend would love these.  You know what, he is really the cook in our house.  I'm really not good at cooking but I hope to change that someday.  

I'm still waiting for the weather to clear up.  Apparently, even though Storm Hener has not left the country, a new storm is coming.  Crossing my fingers that it wouldn't be as damaging as Hener.