Happy Thoughts Part 2 - Have Something to Look Forward

This time last year I was looking forward to...



and right this very moment until the end of Q1 2012...

and I am more than THANKFUL!

I stumbled upon an interesting post in the internet which gave me an idea for the Part 2 of my Happy Thoughts Project :)

"...There are four stages for enjoying a happy event:

-- anticipation (looking forward to it)
-- savoring (enjoying it in the moment – remember to turn off your cell phone!)
-- expression (sharing your pleasure with others, to heighten your experience)
-- reflection (looking back on happy times – so take pictures)

Anticipation is a key stage; by having something to look forward to, no matter what your circumstances, you bring happiness into your life well before the event actually takes place. In fact, sometimes the happiness in anticipation is greater than the happiness actually experienced in the moment."

Pak na pak di ba? Pag meron kang nilu-look forward, yung 2 hours na byahe mo, parang ang bilis bilis lang. Napupunta lang lahat sa pagmumuni-muni.

Pero what if wala kang something special na iniintay? Shocks guilty ako diyan, lalo na pag tapos na yung matagal mong kina-excite tapos balik ka na sa "normal" life. Katamaaad! Pag tumagal tagal mauuwi na sa boredom at discontentment. Ayayay! Hanggang mali mali na lahat ng ginagawa mong reports. Disaster! (ok masyadong talking based on experience hahaha)

In time, narealize ko rin na hindi naman dapat super bongga yung mga nilu-look forward mo para maging masaya ka. Of course, sino ba namang hindi tatumbling sa excitement na binibigay ng future trip na nakuha mo sa Piso Fare or all expense paid company trip di ba? Pero pag wala talaga, pwede din namang:

"excited na akong umuwi! masarap ulam namin mamaya!"
"excited na akong pumasok! drink all you can yung coffee vendo machine sa office!!!"
"excited na akong tapusin yung ad hoc ko, napanaginipan ko kanina yung SAS code, baka makalimutan ko na!"
"excited na ako sa lunch break, catch up kami ng uber close girlfriends ko!"

and the list can be endless :)

Sure there will be dull, boring, normal, ordinary days when it's hard to remember something that made you smile, but hard doesn't mean impossible. Cliche as this may sound, but the fact that you woke up is already something to be thankful for :) I'll end this post with a video that can help us identify things that will make us happy :)

Alone Time and Random Acts of Kindness

I know a lot of people who can't dine out alone and I don't get it. Ang tanong ko sa kanila, kailangan mo ba ng ibang tao para kumain? hahaha. ;) Well, wala naman talaga akong ginagawa pag mag isa bukod sa kumain, as in mabilis na kain lang tapos alis na. Until this afternoon, I realized that it is only when I'm alone that I get to observe other people and witness random acts of kindness. :)

Isang henyo ang naka-isip na maglagay ng McDonald's branch sa may buendia station ng MRT. Pag pagod ka na makipagsiksikan at bigla kang nag crave ng chicken nuggets at coke float, ayan na ang kasagutan!

While finishing my last piece of nugget, an old man went inside the store and asked the security guard if he saw his Senior Citizen ID. The old man really looked exhausted, at ayon sa na-eavesdrop ko, galing pa daw siya ng LRT Buendia at binalikan niya baka dun naiwan yung ID. Hinanap muna ng guard sa logbook niya kung may nakaipit na ID, nung wala, naisip niya na baka nasama sa tray at natapon sa trash bin. Tumulong yung isang crew, nilabas nila yung garbage bag (as in sa labas ng McDo) at nahanap nga yung ID! After nun, nag offer pa yung guard na i-dryer yung ID kase medyo basa na siya ng coke. :)

Wow. It may sound really simple pero sobrang napa-aaaaw ako :)

And then I recalled one bad day in that same branch. I bought a sundae and french fries to cheer me up, and sat in one corner of the store. After finishing my "happy food" and on my way out, a number of crew members including those in the counter, thanked me for dining and smiled genuinely. One crew even opened the door for me smiling. Feeling ko for a time that moment, "teka joke ba to? nagpractice ba kayo? ba't kayo sabay-sabay? ako lang customer?" hahaha. And then for another split second, i thought, "chos script lang naman yan e!" I don't usually smile back at strangers, but that time, I returned a genuine smile to the strangers who sort of lightened up my day. :) At pagdating ko sa office, I visited http://www.mcdonalds.com.ph/customer_care and sent them a customer feedback. :)

A few hours later, I got this reply from them, not sure if this was auto generated, but it didn't really matter :)

Dear Princess Ramirez,

Thank you so much for your commendation.

It's certainly nice to receive an email like yours and know our efforts are appreciated.

Our operations team work hard to maintain high standards of quality, service, cleanliness and value to guarantee that each transaction you make with McDonald's is a pleasant experience.

Our number one goal is 100 percent customer satisfaction.

Again, thank you for taking the time to write. Please continue to tell us how we're doing.

Amazing how these simple random acts of kindness matter a lot. Naguiguilty tuloy ako minsan sa dalas kong maging grumpy when I should have smiled instead and could have brightened someone else's bad day. :)

*image is from the web

Happy Thoughts Part 1 - Food!

"Think of the happiest things! It's the same as having wings!" ---Peter Pan



Aaaaaw Peter Pan! My favorite cartoon character! Mapa tagalog or english speaking Peter Pan :)

I've been daydreaming about this blogpost over the weekend and it felt like one of the best weekends ever! :) I listed things that make me smile, giddy, laugh and happy. Imagine, 2 days of happy thoughts? Kung meron lang akong fairy dust, malamang nakalipad na rin ako! :)

I now have 21 in my list pero feeling ko madadagdagan pa, and I'll be sharing 2 of them in this post :)

1. Happy Food!

Syempre pagkain talaga ang una sa listahan. Pag stressed ka at hindi ka pwedeng magreklamo, ano pa nga bang pinakamabilis na solusyon kundi kumain? Pag bagong sweldo ka at feeling mo nadeprive ka sa masarap na pagkain during the sweldo de peligro days, ano pa bang una mong iisipin kundi "bibili ako ng masarap na pagkain!". It's like the fastest and cheapest reward you can give to yourself after a hard day's work. :)

Presenting my happy food! Yes, puro chicken talaga! I love chicken! Kahit allergic na ako :( May ointment naman e. hahaha. I'm not very fond of sweets but Stik O, Banapple's Banoffee Pie and Coffee Bean's Triple Decker Cheesecake are exceptions. And my closest college friends might never forget how I say "Oh my god, Vcut" kapag nakakakita ako ng Vcut sa mga tindahan. hahaha.

Ito yung mga pagkain na kahit mag isa lang ako sa table (dining or computer table) na kumakain e napapangiti ako sa bawat subo at bumubulong ng "the best!". No kidding! hahaha.

2. Luto ni Itay

That's my father on a normal weekend thinking of what to cook for us. :) Kahit anong pagkain pa pag tinabi sa luto ng tatay ko, taob lahat! One reason kung bakit hindi ako mahilig sa mga carinderia food, or level ng mga tinitinda sa pantry namin e dahil nacocompare ko sa luto ng tatay ko. Mataas standards ng taste buds ko pagdating sa lutong bahay! hahaha ;) He cooks the best sisig! The best dinuguan! The best sinigang! The best siomai! The best palabok! The best maja blanca! The best everything! Kaya palagi rin akong nagvovolunteer na magdala ng food pag may party since pre-school para malaman ng lahat ng kilala ko kung gaano kasarap magluto tatay ko. hehe :)

And what makes me a giddy daughter? Everytime he asks me "Darling, anong gusto mong ulam bukas?" :)

More to come!!! :)

IHG Christmas Party

WARNING: This is vanity post. Scroll down at your own risk ;)

It's nice to dress up once in a while :)

Back in November, we had a kulitan google chat about our preferred team Christmas Party theme. Some of the suggestions were Star Magic Ball, Vintage look, Hawaiian, United Nations, Rocker and lots of other silly combinations. Vintage look was quite interesting, so I tried experimenting on my hair :)

A "toned down" Star Magic Ball theme won, meaning pwedeng mag cocktail dress. haha. Just when we thought we'd say goodbye to our dream vintage look, yun naman ang theme ng department namin sa company-wide Christmas Party ng IHG! Amazing! :)

Fine, fine, fine, my get up wasn't really vintage, wala akong pera pambili ng dress, so ni-recycle ko na lang yung 350 peso dress na nabili ko sa Pasig tiangge na pinamana ko na sa younger sister ko. hahaha. :) I thought I'd make bawi na lang sa hairstyle, but no. You see, I tried my best, kumulot siya for 30 minutes, pero ayan bagsak na ulit sa 3rd picture.



My sister borrowed/took my cam's memory card so I didn't take it with me. Ok na rin. Hassle magdala ng huge cam sa mga gantong parties. Graduate na ako maging "glamorous photographer" hehe ;) Buti na lang ang sipag sipag ni Kuya Mike mag take ng pictures! :)

This one's my favorite :) Ika nga, pang profile picture. hahaha :)



With my make up artist and office sister Jhen :) Minsan talaga pag napapatingin ako sa salamin, feeling ko nakikita ko na siya. hahaha. Siya din ganun. hehe ;)

Pictures with UP Stat batch mates :)

With the beautiful Revenue Optimization Team :)

 With the man in "Lider" Jacket. hahaha. I love the lower right pic. hehe ;)

With the most wonderful team ever :)

 

 *special thanks to Kuya Mike for the pictures :)

PPV - Project Positive Vibes

I can will win this and I shall see the happy Princess again! :)

Commuter's Pet Peeves

I promise that I'll try my best to keep this blog from whining and negative vibes, pero palampasin niyo na to ;) I just feel that writing this down will help me overcome most of my pet peeves while on the road to and from the office, which is (3 to 4)x5 hours of my entire week. :)

I've been failing several tests of patience for the past couple of months. As in yung level ng pasensiya ko sa kalsada, sa driver, sa barker, sa kapwa pasahero, sa guards at sa lahat ng makakasalamuha ko sa kalsada, 6 feet under ground na.

Let me show you my journey twice a day (hindi namin exact na bahay yung point A for safety reasons. hehe)

tricycle - jeep - fx - mrt - jeep - jeep - mrt - fx - jeep - tricycle for the past 5.5 years

Since first year high school (1998) commuter na ako, so for a span of 13 years, nakaipon na ako ng listahan ng lahat ng kinaiinisan ko pag nagcocommute. Yung iba guilty din ako, yung iba, wala naman talaga akong magagawa, arte ko lang. hehe.

Tricycle

1. pag hindi pumepreno pag may humps. kahit maliit to, nasasaktan pa rin ako! hahaha
2. 13 years na ako sumasakay ng tricycle sa subdivision namin pero hindi pa rin alam yung bahay ko. ang arte ko lang. hahaha ;p

Jeep

1. hindi nagte-thank you pag nagpapaabot ng bayad
2. nagpapanggap na hindi nakikita pag nagpapaabot ng bayad
3. parehas kaming malayo sa driver pero nagpapaabot pa rin ng bayad. hahaha
4. pag mag isa ka na lang na pasahero, magca-cut ng trip tapos papalipatin ka ng ibang jeep
5. galit sa break fluid
6. humihinto sa lahat ng kanto kahit walang pumapara. No choice, naghahanap buhay lang din sila ;) pero nakakainis pa rin minsan. hehe. (applied din to sa bus at fx)
7. pag nagyoyosi yung driver tapos may malaking sign sa jeep niya na bawal manigarilyo dito!
8. pag may nanlilimos tapos aapakan yung paa mo pag wala kang binigay. (from experience!)
9. yung mga barker na pipilitin kang sumakay sa Bagong Silang Maligaya daan e sa Almar Zabarte ka naman pupunta. Marami nito sa SM Fairview. hehehe
10. yung mga barker na nagsa-side comment pag lalampasan mo yung jeep sa Buendia na 2 na lang ang kulang
11. pag malapit nang makatawid ng intersection yung jeep niyo tapos biglang nag red light
12. pag dinededma yung pag-para mo sa kanto kasi ayaw nilang maabutan ng red light

Bus. Wala akong gusto na kahit ano sa kahit anong bus ride. Hatest mode of transportation ever. Hatest kinds of drivers ever. ;)

Special Mention: Manrose Bus, kung sino man ang nagdesign ng upuan ng Manrose, natry mo na umupo dun ng dalawang oras na parang naka 80degrees yung angle ng katawan mo? hehe

MRT.

1. Siksikan. No choice. lahat tayo nagmamadali at naghahanap buhay ;)
2. Skipping trains. Palagi na lang biktima ang Quezon Ave. Paasa kayo e. hehehe ;p
3. Yung mga sumasalubong sa lumalabas. Pero in fairness sa Quezon ave at Ortigas, ilang beses ko na nakikita na nakapila yung mga sumasakay ng train. It's about time Pilipinas! :)
4. Yung mga pasaherong ginagawang sandalan yung hand bars. Nabili mo 'te? Bawal kami humawak? hehe.
5. Yung mga guards na taga tusok ng bag papasok. Mas gusto ko pa amuyin ng bomb sniffing dogs yung shoulder bag ko kesa sayangin oras ko sa ginagawa nila. Again, no choice. Ginagawa lang din nila trabaho nila. hehe :)
6. Sa single na escalator: pag nagmamadali ka, gumamit ka ng hagdan :)
7. Sa double na escalator: kung tamad ka maglakad, wag ka humarang sa gitna :)
8. Yung mga humihinto at nagbebeso sa mismong dulo ng escalator. Namaaan!
9. Pag nakatayo ka, tapos bumaba yung nasa tapat mong nakaupo, tapos yung katabi niya biglang uurong sa tapat mo. Kairitaaaa! hahahaha

FX

1. Yung mga buff guys na nakikipagsiksikan sa gitna ng fx. Mga kuya, alam kong parehas lang tayo nagbabayad, pero maawa naman kayo sa mga payatot na walang habas niyong sinasandalan. :)
2. Yung pang apat na sasakay sa gitna tapos ipipilit pa rin niyang sumandal kahit hindi na kasya.
3. Pag maluwag pa sa gitna tapos mag isa lang ako sa harap tapos dun ka pa uupo. haha, arte ko lang ;)
4. Pag wala pang panukli tapos hindi man lang magsasabi ng "sandali lang ang sukli"
5. Yung pawisin na didikit sa balikat mo! Eeeeew ;p
6. Yung mga kumakain ng shawarma sa loob ng fx.
7. Pag malakas ang boses na nagkukwentuhan at nagtatawanan, tapos galing ako sa night shift
8. Ibang items sa jeep.

Yun lang bow. :)

I Miss Organizing Events

I'm a frustrated events organizer. I love the kind of stress it gives me. The planning from scratch to the sense of fulfillment and everything in between. I did not have any event organizing stint this year, which made me miss it so much. Kaya ako aligaga e.

It all started in college when I was sort of a politiko. hahaha. =)

UP School of Statistics Student Council 04-05

aaaaw....

UP Statistical Society BOD 05-06

THE Anniv. Week

Yung mga panahon na usong-uso ang wake me up when September ends :)

Stat-is-Eeks! 2005

Huling hirit :)

Symposium

Back in Equitable PCI Bank days, I also co-organized our department's Christmas Party where I was one of the hosts too! I hosted in front of the VPs! Buti na lang pinoy silang lahat, so ok lang ang kalyeng hosting! hahaha :) I'll try to look for pictures :)

Sa SCB... hmmm busy ako nun e. hahaha :) But I really wanted to be a part of the Employee Development Club back then. kaso wiz. hehe :)

This one's my favorite. The best "summer" trip ever :) There's nothing wrong with the picture. The white dots are not noise, souls or whatsoever. Ulan yan ;p

Fontana 2009

In 2009, I co-organized 3 Christmas Parties! :)

With my loves :)

Laiya Batangas 2009

with my teamfriends :)

Business Analytics Christmas Party 2009

with IHG's Admin Department :)

at ito na yung last.

Medyo hardcore nung college (tipong, ayoko na mag-aral, mag-o-officer na lang ako! hahaha) tapos puro Christmas parties and outings na lang nung working girl na. Mahirap or madali, it doesn't matter, basta trip ko lang mag organize :)

I'm doing my "30 things to do before 30 list" in my mind and organizing a wedding is one of them. As in one of the top! Pwedeng wedding ko, or wedding ng ibang tao. hehe. pero more likely yung latter. hehe :)

And probably, when I retire from office work at maging butihing maybahay na lang, gusto ko magtayo ng parlor, at maging events organizer! :)

Can anybody give me something to do that is non-work related? hehe :) 

Live. Love. Laugh. Jump!

The first and only GIF image I made in my entire life featuring my friends jumping in Balai sa Laiya Batangas

I've mastered taking good jump shot photos using a reliable SLR. On normal lighting turn mo lang sa TV priority, 1/100 na shutter speed, half press mo muna, bilang ng 1-2-3 jump, tas pag nasa ere na sila saka mo i-shoot! Or kung hindi ka talaga magaling tsumempo, mag continuous shot ka na lang, ewan ko lang kung wala ka pa rin makuha ;)

Ang dami dami kong jump shots. I don't mind doing it but I hate looking at the finished product. I don't know, pano nagagawa ng mga tao magmukha pa rin normal ang facial expression habang nasa ere? Hindi ko talaga kaya! Hahaha. My friends can attest how unflattering my facial expressions are in my jump shots. Parang hirap na hirap! I won't show pictures. Sorry. hahaha :) 

This is supposed to be a serious post but I think I should gather my thoughts muna :) I have many realizations lately pero kasing gulo pa sila ng political situation ng Pilipinas.

Bow. :)

P.S. hindi nagwowork yung gif pag ni-resize ko yung image. so bare with the lampas. i hateet. hehe :)

Prinsesa at Potograpiya

Meet my priceless possession and loyal travel buddy, Camahalan, born October 23, 2009. Gender: becky :)

At ito na (approximately) ang aming napagdaanan together: 28,976 pictures in almost 150 events/destinations. :)

Out of those numbers, mga 1/5 solo pictures ko, more than half group pictures na kasama pa rin ako the rest mga random shots na patapon, hehe, pero kung gagawa ako ng wall na punong puno ng pictures na proud akong i-display, isasama ko ang mga to :)

"Why would I ruin the petals of a flower when I knew from the start the he loves me not?" Charot! ;)

Laiya, Batangas; December, 2009

Pinoy Santa Claus; December, 2009

Tanten; December, 2009

Pasyon; April 2010

Pinatubo; March 2010

It's time every Juan flies; Cagayan de Oro; May 2010

Tabinging Isla; Camiguin; May 2010

Tsinelas; UP Diliman; January 2011

♪♫ And all of my wishes will come true ♪♫

Magic Kingdom, November 2010

Boracay Sunset; January 2011

New York City Skyline; February 2011

Oble sa Dapithapon; May 2011

Goodbye, Brooklyn; February 2011

I swear I'm going to have a wall full of sakura images in this lifetime <3

Kema Sakuranomiya Park; April 2011

Kyoto; April 2011

Photowalks :)

Gwen; August 2011

Rizza; August 2011

Kim; January 2011

Haduken; Intramuros; August 2011

Proud Moments <3

White Water Rafting; Cagayan de Oro; May 2010

Ariel's Point; Aklan; January 2011

Helmet Diving; Boracay; January 2011

Giddy Happy Moments

Fake Snow; Stone Mountain; February 2011

Dear New York, this. is. so. sweet. of. you <3

February 2011

Pink World!

Osaka, Japan; April 2011

Reunions :)

Washington, DC with Nina :)

November 2010

Osaka, Japan with Tita Vangie :)

April 2011

Oahu, Hawaii with Tita Mae :)

September 2011

With the people I love :)