Saturday Nine: School Daze

1. Do you have children in school? My daughter.

2. Did you go to public school? If you have children did/do they? Yup, I did. Elementary, in a nearby elementary school. In high school, the only laboratory and the best public school in the city. Naks. :D DD is in a private school though, where I have been working.

3. Are you currently in school or taking classes? Yup, as an employee.

4. What level of education have you completed? Graduate school

5. Do you, or did you have loans out for your (or your children’s) education? Fortunately nope. She enjoys free private education as a part of my benefits as an employee of that university.

6. What are your thoughts on the cost of tuition for colleges and universities? Oh-so-costly! Tuition fee has become as expensive as diamond rings these days! Good thing we are not paying for DD’s tuition and miscellaneous fees YET.

7. Did school prepare you education wise for working in the real world? Yup. I believe that what I learned in and outside of the classroom prepared me for the bigger and real world.

8. Did school prepare you emotionally for what lay ahead? Somehow. Especially with my volunteering gigs while in college.

9. If you were to run a high school, what changes would you make? A balance between co-curricular and extra curricular activities. The former should complement the latter and vice versa. Encourage more application than just theories. Provide a wide space for playing and outdoor activities. No junk foods must be sold to the students. And a whole lot more! :)

From Alpha who got it from here.

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Why Vacation is Essential

Nope, that isn’t the view from my window. How I wish! :D That is my desktop! That’s the closest that I can get to having a trip to the beach! Haha! I am so pathetic. The heat is on, schedule has been hectic and I badly need a break from the stressful daily living. But since it’s impossible, I just used this default Windows wallpaper. At least, I can visually take a break, so to speak. Hehe!

So, why is it necessary to take a vacation from work? Eric Shannon says that “Vacations are an essential part of working life, as they give us the opportunity to depart from the usual day to day grind and to recharge and renew.” How true! Reading his article is indeed enlightening and takes away the guilt brought about by spending time and money on what we generally think as a useless thing. Moreover, he differentiated vacation from staycation. The former as taking a break from the routine of daily living and going somewhere while the latter, using one’s vacation time but doesn’t go anywhere or simply put, just vacationing at home.

The Holy Week is almost upon us here in the Philippines. If you have the money, I suggest that you take your family somewhere. Take that opportunity to recharge and renew and be a better parent and worker after that refreshing break!

Read more about other benefits of taking a vacation HERE.

In the mean time, I am going to take a break from blogging and help a friend look for a sleep number bed for her son who will be going to college and stay in a boarding house in the coming school year. TTFN!

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Very Proud and a Teeny-Weeny Sad

This cute little girl will be graduating from Kindergarten tomorrow with an award as one of the consistent honor students! I am one proud mommy, of course! I am very proud of her Dad too, who will finally step on her school grounds tomorrow after a year or so. That’s how busy he has been. He filed a leave of absence for the entire day tomorrow! How sweet! The graduation will be at 3 PM and to keep my sanity, we decided to just eat at a restaurant afterwards, as a celebration. The little girl already got her graduation gifts from us last weekend – several Bertoluccin watches, errr, I mean books of her choice. Hehe.

However, I can’t help but feel a little bit sad because of the fact that I no longer have a baby. She will be a first grader come June 2009. *sigh*

That photo above was taken two years ago. To say that I miss my baby is an understatement. However, I can’t bring back time. No one. That is why I try to treasure every moment spent with her for one day, she will not be see me as her knows-it-all, wonder, super mommy. And she won’t be really needing me anymore. I want to hold on to this moment, to this not so little yet not so big girl, to her affection and love. I will miss this all one day, for sure. But I don’t want to look back and regret that I did not love her enough nor spend enough time with her.

So now, I will turn off this laptop and join her and her Dad in their exchange of stories and thoughts in the other room. Ta-ta!

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Better

Someone is feeling better. Thanks to Jollibee’s palabok and mais con hielo. Hehe. Seriously, thanks to a very loving, generous and understanding husband. A heart-to-heart talk with him last night made the load lighter. His assurance that he understands what I am going through is enough to make me forget my worries and have a good night’s sleep. I hope I can elaborate the reasonssss why I feel bad and sad but I don’t want to bore you. All I can say is that I need a break and I will soon have it. We’re still thinking of going to a place (where there’s a free hotel night perhaps) but since money is tight, we might as well save it for the rainy days. *sigh* Decisions. Decisions.

Anyways, I am spending the night my myself. DH is on a business trip and DD is with my parents because I need to be early tomorrow. It’s our school’s baccalaureate and I am not too keen on attending since I really hate going to occasions like that AND I am working on our survey results. It’s due next week (our planning and evaluation – toxic week ahead. Fun.). I will be bringing DD to our dentist too because *sob* one of her *sob* permanent teeth came out! *sob* I will be making a separate post about this one of these days. I need to have dental prophylaxis. The last one was two years ago, I think. Yikes.

Sunday is graduation day and you’ve guessed it right – we are required to attend. I will. But I already got an escape plan. Haha! Have a lovely weekend!

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Still Tired.

Hello friends! I just want to let you know that I am still alive. Just a little bit tired and stressed. Close to burn out, I guess. But who cares, right? Haha! The first quarter of the year has not ended yet but I already need a break. Badly.

 

But the million dollar question is, WHEN?

I don’t know. *sigh*

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Not Good

It’s the worst day of my working life. I am just grateful that I have my family with me. They surely are the wind beneath my wings. I love them and I am very much thankful that they are with me through the good and the bad times.  No one can break me as long as my family and God are with me. Amen. :)

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Is this a Pen?

No it’s not! :p
It’s a screw driver! I have been meaning to buy something like this to be used at work and I am happy to buy one at such a cheap price, about $2. Don’t you wish insurance quotes are as cheap as this tool?

Anyways, take a look at the varied tips that it has:
I badly need this one at work because there are times when screws get loose, like screws of the numbering machine that we always borrow from my former office. Or a screw of the handle of that board cutter that we also keep on borrowing from that same office. Yikes. It’s handy to have a thingamajig like this. And like what some friends told me, it’s good for self-defense too, though I never ever wish that I will be using it for that purpose. :)

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Aloha!

Hello! It’s been a while! I have been working like there’s no tomorrow in the past week and I’ve forgotten how to blog! Haha! So many things to accomplish, so little time. Good thing today is a local holiday that I get some time to do some fun stuff on the computer like blog and scrap (I hope!).

My noisy DD just turned 6! Happy birthday, Love! May God bless you with more toys and mango juice and spaghetti and ice cream and everything that makes you jump for joy! :D Love yah!

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Questions of the Week #48

Hey there! It’s been a while huh. :D I am feeling better though tired these days. I am swamped with work, but you already know that. Hehe.

And guess who is back! Yen, the Questions of the Week girl! So anyways, here’s my take for this week’s QOTW. And as always, thank you, Yen!

1. “So…do you want the good news or the bad news?” When someone asks you this, which one do you generally ask for first?
:: The good news, of course!
2. Do you remember compliments more than rude remarks or vice versa?
:: I remember the compliments. Haha!

3. The main difference between you and your best friend is …
:: Which one of them? Hehe. I am a scrapbooker and they’re not. Is that counted? :D
4. Have you ever given someone a fake phone number, just to get rid of them?
:: Once. Haha! It was someone who was forcing me to buy vessel sinks which I find no use for now since we are just renting our place and our bathroom is so small it can’t accommodate one.
5. Do you find that there’s too much choice in your life?

:: Yeah. There is ALWAYS a choice!
6. How would you describe your temper?
:: Quick.
7. Are you more likely to exaggerate or downplay your troubles?
:: It depends on who I am talking with. With the students I deal with, I downplay. But most often, I exaggerate. Haha! 
8. List 3 people-real or fictional, living or dead, famous or personal friends-whom you respect and admire, and why.
:: Ninoy Aquino, Mother Theresa and Pope John Paul II. They lived and died for others. I personally think that our lives are better because of them.
9. Can you draw?
Just doodle. But DRAW? For the life of me, nope. Haha!
10. What do you need to work on?

:: My punctuality at work. Hehe.

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