I Love PB&J!

First published on FB, 12 October 2011:

I'm an only child & my mum's father & siblings were all in the US. As such, her father, brothers and sisters regularly send Balikbayan boxes filled with stateside goodies. Spoiling me & teaching me to know & love US products in the process. 

Sometimes, my mum's PX privileges (courtesy of my US veteran gramps) enabled her to buy stateside goodies at the Camp Aguinaldo PX stores. In those days, we call it 'PX', not 'Duty-Free' stores (shows my age, hah!).

I remember spreading Blue Bonnet margarine on my sandwiches, & as the Blue Bonnet catchphrase goes, "Everything's better with Blue Bonnet on it." It always was true for me! I just loved it!

Another wonderful food memory I have is PB&J, good ol' peanut butter & jelly! Mum always bought both Skippy smooth & chunky which I always top with sliced bananas. 

Then mum brought home Smucker's Goober Peanut Butter & Jelly Stripes in both grape & strawberry variants. I got hooked!

As I grew older, other goodies presented themselves & it became hard to find Goober or Skippy & I temporarily forgot about PB&J. Then one time, at a grocery with my mum, I saw Goober PB&J strawberry! My old love was back! My eyes lit up when I saw good ol' Goober PB&J Stripes! Yum!

I still buy Goober everytime I wanted cheering up. A jar usually does not last a week for me. There are times I eat the strawberry stripes first, other times I eat the peanut butter first. Sometimes I spread it on slices of bread, other times on sliced bananas. Most of the time I just go at it by spoonfuls. And all the time eating it with full enjoyment.

PB&J takes me back to my childhood, away from the hassles, pressures & heartaches of being an adult. It's sweet & creamy & makes my poop creamy too - too much information! Lol!

PB&J, you never fail to satisfy me. ♥♥♥

It Is What It Is...

I admit, I am not contented with my life. I am one of those people who think that life is unfair and incomplete and that there is a lot owed me.


But I also accept that it is what it is. It was what was dealt me. I may not like it but I do accept it & try to change everything for the better.


That is why I am surprised that a friend who has what I believe a wonderful life so angry with her life. 


Admittedly, I don't know everything that goes on with her, I am not with her every minute, I haven't even seen her in years, but we keep in touch. 


Some people are contented with having a comfortable life: a loving family and significant other, a good job and a place to call one's own. I also know people who are like me: discontented and still searching for the elusive feeling of contentment. 


My friend has a loving mum, a sibling who is also her best friend, a wonderful significant other, a stable employment & her own place, and yet, she feels anger toward whatever it is.


It saddens me that she feels this way. I pray & hope that she recognizes this anger & resolve it. She's a wonderful person who deserves the wonderful things she has today. I hate for her to throw it away & give in to anger.


I too have anger issues, who doesn't? If life is not to one's own liking, strive for change. That was what other friends & my relatives taught me. Continue searching for what will make one happy. 


I am still searching & will continue to do so till I do not know when. 


Life is what it is...but I believe that there is always room for change.

Pole Dancing in 2011

While growing up, one of my forms of entertainment was the television. During those times, movies in the afternoon were shown. If I wasn't doing my afternoon nap, I watched those movies, some of them were action movies wherein scenes were shot in seedy pubs & bars where ladies dance scantily clad & gyrating on a pole.


I remember watching Vivian Velez, the Body Beautiful, dancing suggestively & other nameless boldstars just holding the pole & dancing around it.

While working for a military outfit, some of the staff (male & female) were invited to a club owned by a military sargeant where half-naked women do lapdances, spins on the pole, fully naked ladies being groped & licked. (The licking part happened in a VIP room & we female staff were in a different room, but we snuck in a peek.) 

In my mind, pole dancing is pictured with a backdrop of smoky air, slow music, the smell of beer & peanuts, of girls with bored expressions swaying to the music, the lonely pole with a girl holding on to & rubbing her body on it.But my opinion changed after learning one of my best friends is teaching pole. When I first heard of it, I could not picture her dancing, certainly not of dancing on a pole! Her description of pole dancing was so different from what I used to see on TV. I never knew pole dancing could be an art! 

Watching my friend's videos of her group was an eye-opener. What they do on the pole is NOT the way Kendra Wilkinson, the Kardashian sisters, Britney Spears (Gimme More video) do pole. I've seen dancers on the Dance Your A** Off competition do better than Kendra, the Kardashians or Britney.

Pole dancing, I believe had come a long way from just dancing with a pole to entice men to look at a dancer as she strips in a seedy bar. Pole dancing is an art in itself. It is also a form of exercise to strengthen the upper body, to improve balance or to lose weight.My friend's group, the Polecats, recently won in pole competitions in Singapore & KL. I am so proud of them! GO POLECATS! You can find them on Facebook.

I wish I could do pole, but I think the pole my friend has in her studio can't support my weight.

It's Been A While...

In honor of my being back in the blogosphere, here's a post I've made in Facebook (for those who do not have access/can't view my FB page) published on 8 May 2010, 4:20 pm:


I Will Be OK Mommy


I always tell you that when you're gone I will miss you because of a lot of things.
The issues we fight over,
My objections over things you try to teach me,
The food you always cook for me,
Your daily reminders that I behave & take care of my health,
The stories of your life,
The gossips about people we know.


I may always be difficult,
I may always be stubborn,
I may not always be accepting of your teachings,
I may at times seem uncaring,
I may not understand where you are coming from,
But I do love you.


I have lost the person I always fought with,
Who cooks great food for me,
Who secretly cheers me on,
Who is always proud of me.


You may be gone,
But you will always be here with me.
Wherever you are, please do not worry,
I will be OK, Mommy.

I swear!

Read from Tittle-Tattle:

Chris Rock Mother Spoils Comedy Shows
by Staff


Chris Rock's mother disrupts his comedy shows every time she is in the audience - because the funnyman is too scared to swear in front of her.

Rosalie Rock imposed a strict ban on swear words as the star was growing up and his childhood fears of letting slip a rude word are still strong, even as an adult.

And now whenever Rock knows his mother is watching from the crowd, he would rather change his gags - which are usually peppered with obscenities - rather than offend his mum.

Rosalie tells New York Gossip Column PageSix, "I cramped his style. (Later) he was never told where I would be seated." (c) WENN

---
Now THIS is what you should teach your kids people!!!

Of course I swear, sometimes you just have to let your anger out, you know?

Adventures in job hunting...2

So today, I went to a new company to apply for a job.

When I told the guard that I would be submitting my resume & apply for a job, she told me to deposit my bag first to the lockers beside another guard. So the guy guard gave me a number & pointed the corresponding locker to deposit my bag. I told him I'll leave my wallet & mobile phone in my bag, he nodded. I asked him if my stuff would be safe 'coz there's no lock in the locker, he nodded. Clearly not a man of many words.

So I returned to the lady-guard, registered my name, address & the position I was applying for.

I was told to sit. I sat & watched old Friends episodes from the waiting area's big, flat-screen.

The wait was not long, my name was called along with 8 other applicants. The first 4 were interviewed, and I chatted with the remaining 4. One was applying for an Operations Manager (Collections), one was a high school undergrad applying for her first job, another was a tutorial center teacher applying for her first BPO job, and the last was an experienced agent.

The first four's interview was quick & they left the interview room. The rest of us, save the experienced agent entered the interview room.

The questions were:
1. What position we were applying for.
2. Where learned of the company.
3. Describe ourselves.

The Ops Mgr applicant was dispatched first, he should wait for a call. The tutorial teacher was also told to wait for a call, if she did not receive a call, she did not meet the company's requirements. The 'fresh meat' & I were told to wait for the exam.

On the exam room, we were given 3 computer-based exams & 1 pencil-paper test. Some of us (yes, including myself) were not really listening to the examiner's instructions & proceeded to the second part of the computer-based exam. Haha!

Anyway, we were told we all passed. A quiet sigh of relief. The examiner was surprised because there was no audible reaction. We nervously laughed. We were given our interview dates & times, then we all parted ways.

Since I was in the area, hungry though I was, I decided to visit this MT school & inquire, I've read that they offer scholarship so, what the heck, might as well try!

It was 12:30 pm by then, I haven't eaten yet. I had not dined the night before, I only ate porridge & some brewad for breakfast. I really was hungry!

The training coordinator was very nice & explained the details well. I asked for scholarship details & I was told to take the scholarship exam. I was like, 'uhm, right now?'. So I went for it. It was HARD! Especially the math part. I bombed in high school & college math!

After my exam, I returned my answer sheet & the test booklet. I was told to expect a call tomorrow. Oh I do HOPE I PASS!!!

Lesson/s learned:

Never take tests when you're hungry.

Bring crackers/cookies/biscuits to tide you over while waiting.

Adventures in job hunting...1

I went job hunting today, 2 days after I was officially let go. I returned to this company I applied to last 19 January. I applied then for a supervisory position. I did not hear from them again. *sigh*

I really wanted to work there, primarily because one of my closest friends from my just-left job is working there. (Don't worry Josh & Chelle, you're both my friends too!) Anyway, I decided that if I can't get the supervisory position, I might as well apply for an agent position & just work my way up. I don't mind the lower pay scale much, as long as I have a job! I think I can do a good job & get promoted. It's going to hurt my pride a bit, since Karen & Josh used to belong to my team. But it's ok, it's no biggie!

I was given an exam & then I was told that they will call me. (Oh, please, PLEASE CALL!!!)

With that one down, I went to a mall for lunch before going to another employment hunt.

I read about this company on the classifieds. They are offering a course I'd always wanted to take even before I left the financial institution job prior to my just-left job. Confused about my jobs? OK, a quick run down:

job # 1: my former high school - lasted for 4 years
job # 2: a transcription job for a book - around 2-3 months
job # 3: my former college - admissions, lasted for 4 months (it was an as-needed contract)
job # 4: financial institution - lasted for lmost 5 years, company closed due to financial difficulties (Go figure! A company who lends money suddenly went broke!)
job # 5: a bpo, content-provider - (the just-left job) lasted for 2.5 years

Back to my job hunt.

So I arrived at 2:00 pm, informed the HR/Reception person that I wanted to inquire about the course. She asked me to sit my butt & she called the person in charge. Waited.

Still waited.

2:40 pm, a lady comes out and said: "are there applicants for the -- school?" I raised my hand along with another woman. The other woman was entertained first & I was told that she will attend to me next. Waited. They finished talking. HR/school person returned to her cubicle behind locked doors. Waited.... HR/Reception person came & left her post to attend to other duties. Waited.. Grrr...

3:00 pm, HR/Reception person called HR/school person & informed her that another student was waiting for her. Waited...

3:15 pm, hurray! HR/school person finally attended me. I asked the necessary questions and was answered satisfactorily. The -- school director/coordinator went out to talk to me & told me that they are waiting for only 3 more persons to join so the course can start. We swapped email addresses & digits, & I left. It was 3:30 pm.

On my way to the church I'd promised to go to, I pondered whether my family can last 3 months (the duration of the course) without any monetary contribution from me. I am not worried about the fees, I can put it up, but I'm not sure where we'll get money for food & bills payments.

But I really want this course!!!

I talked it over with my mom when I returned home. She said go for it! I really wanted to learn a skill. When I was in college, what mattered then in applying for a job is the university you graduated from, not your skills.

I'm holding off on my decision till I talk to my aunt.

Lessons for the day:

Be prepared to wait...& wait...& wait. It was a good thing that the HR/Reception person was nice or I might have been really pissed off!

Be prepared to go hungry!

Be prepared to ask questions.