where the moon shines

Summer’s here and it is super hot! You get off the shower, and as soon as you towel off, you feel the heat starting to settle on you starting from the top of your head. It is when it gets this hot that I wish I was in the mid-shift – like an 11am-8pm shift or something. If that’s the case I’d be in a big cold room when the sun is at its hottest, and I wouldn’t have to suffer sleeping while getting soaked in my sweat. 

But no matter how hot it’s getting, I don’t want to complain too much. After all, in other parts of the country, people are not just sweating profusely but are also losing their livelihood. The El Niño phenomenon has caused drought in farms all over the Philippines. Billions of pesos worth of crops have gone to waste. On the news now, they’re saying that some seas are contaminated by red tide  

So I guess I’ll just go drink up to keep myself cool and hydrated. Nothing like a tall glass of ice-cold water to keep me smiling in this hot weather. Found this article saying that, in a way, drinking ice-cold water helps burn calories. So although you can’t rely on just drinking ice-cold water to lose weight, it does help burn calories because your body has to work to raise the temperature of the ice-cold water you drank as it enters your body. I guess that’s what other fat burners do right? They introduce something into your body so it works overtime to burn calories. 

Pero, when it’s this hot, masarap kumain ng ice cream: 

@the creamery, MOA, Alfonso's bday

I bet Coca Cola sales is also on the rise these days: 

Sulputan din ang tindahan ng halo-halo: 

Ikaw, what do you do to cool off?

About two weeks ago, I published a post about saving inspired by an article from the Entrepreneur magazine. Today, I talk about another article in the same issue (Jan-Feb 2010): Increase Workplace Efficiency- Organizing your workplace need not be a chore with 5s.      

A few days after reading this article, this was mentioned in the Performance Management Training series we were having at work. A week later, it was revealed that it was in fact a vital part of the training. We now have a 5s champion for our account! And of course it isn’t me. 5s has been practiced mainly by big corporations and although it probably started out in manufacturing, it is applicable to all industries. Our trainer mentioned that it was being used in the utilities company she used to work for and there are groups offering courses on the system and companies hire them to train their managers and employees.      

Source www.mcfashion.com.tw/about_mc.htm

5s refers to five steps to achieve an organized workplace: seiri, seiton, seiso, seiketsu and shitsuke. These are Japanese words so yes, the system was first developed in Japan to reduce cost. There are many variations to five S but the concept is just the same. It is a way of organizing and managing the workspace to increase efficiency and also to cut waste.      

1 SEIRI or SORT OUT – First step in the 5s system is to separate what is necessary from the unnecessary. It reduces downtime because it takes away obstructions in the workspace and lessens clutter.      

2 SEITON or SET IN ORDER - Once items have been red tagged for disposal or for storage, next comes the tedious task of organizing them. There should be labels on drawers, cabinets, and even folders. This makes it easier for people to find the information (or item) they need, and reminds every one of the proper place for everything.      

3 SEISO or SHINE OR POLISH - This part of the process entails keeping the work areas clean by regularly observing the order that was set in place in the previous step. It also involves making employees responsible for cleanliness.      

4 SEIKETSU or SYSTEMIZE/STANDARDIZE – The whole 5s system must be incorporated into the company’s core structure and programs. Regular audits with very clear criteria must be set, with a view for rewards or bonuses for employees and/or departments that make the target scores. This should help keep employees motivated in sustaining the 5s.      

5 SHITSUKE or SUSTAIN – In time, managers and employees will make it a habit of maintaining the established procedures. It is primarily management’s role to ensure the sustenance of the system by going through the cycle regularly, providing the needed funds to carry out the plans, and the bonuses to keep the employees motivated. And many companies have seen the value of investing in this system because the gains far outweigh any cost incurred.      

I could use the 5s in my personal life too. I can already think of at least two different aspects where I can run it: my room, and my computer desktop. I have so much clutter in both! Haha. Then why not organize my baking pantry too? Okay, I don’t actually have one, but I should!      

I’ll post updates about my 5s ventures here at home once I get around to actually doing them. Have you ever been late because you can’t find pieces of clothing in your own closet? Well I have, lots of times. My room could really use the 5S.       

Now, if you’re tired of me writing about losing weight and searching for the best tools that will help me in that aim, then STOP READING NOW Have you tried reading reviews on weight loss pills, or maybe even of exercise equipment? Well I have, because I am mostly skeptical about such products. They help too, because for example, what do I know about atro phex ? I don’t think I can be comfortable taking those unless I know a little something about them. Remember the reading up I did about FitRight which was a product I took for a while with no clear results (the link takes you to a post I wrote about it).       

Oh well, maybe I need a coach, a personal fitness trainer. But to be credible, she has to have struggled with her weight in the past too and has now found the right balance she needed to stay fit. Too bad I can’t really afford one.

You will notice a new links list on my sidebar: the BC Bloggers List. It’s a new blog exchange program that I signed up with over the weekend. Click the badge to know more about how it works:

I just finished adding up the first batch of links, Paula, the brains behind the exchange mentioned in her email to the members that she will be sending over the links in four batches. There are about 122 blogs who joined up. She will probably open it for more sign ups at a later time. As it is, that’s a lot of links! Maybe in a later time I will decide to add them on a separate page but for now, they’re okay on my sidebar.

It’s a good thing that some of the bloggers who signed up for the exchange are also in EC and Adgitize

Where did my weekend go? I slept a lot over the past 36 hours, so much for catching up. Woke up at noon time today with a nagging headache! I just ate, and then went back to bed. Ugh. I can tell that Alfred was disappointed that we didn’t go out to see Percy Jackson. Oh well. I’m disappointed that I didn’t move so much today and how much calories did I eat? I had a double cheeseburger and large fries from McDonald’s this afternoon… If I sweat so much because of the heat, does that count?

I received a link for weight loss supplements here and of course I had to check them out. What I’m really interested in though would be testimonials from people I actually know. Big Filipino women who have successfully lost weight. I had a friend on FB who mentioned taking Xenical with good results. One known side effect was the tendency for unexpected poopies, but she said that since she stayed away from really oily food, she didn’t have those. Still, I think that would be difficult for me.

Today we witnessed the wedding of one of the boyfriend’s closest friends. Like the one we attended in December, this was an intimate wedding with mostly very close family and friends in attendance.

He and Alfred go waaaaay back. They’ve been friends since high school at the Malate Catholic School. They’ve seen each other at their best, and at their worst times too. Today, I saw them and their other best buddies all together (wearing barong) for the first time.

I became friends with Krister too when he volunteered for Asia ACTs when we hosted the annual meeting of TDH Germany’s International Campaign against Child Trafficking. He and Alfred (who ditched his work that week so he could help out) helped us with the many tasks and errands that needed to be done to make sure that everything went smoothly.

That week, Krister shared a hotel room with my colleagues Joy and Ate Reggie, and myself, not minding that he had to sleep on the floor. We spent some nights bonding, chatting about all sorts of stuff, including his love life. Lol. Because of those few weeks that Tengkie shared with us, he was considered part of the Asia ACTs family. OMG! I just remembered how awkward it seemed for him when the boyfriend picked up a fight with me in the middle of all the craziness! Haha! I think though that what’s most memorable from that experience, was all the good food we had throughout the week culminating in a dinner for our guests hosted by National Artist Napoleon and Doctora Cherry Abueva in Tandang Sora home.  I have to find a copy of Alfred and Tengkie’s photo with Daddy Abueva from that night!

Since then I only saw Tengkie very few times, one of which was for our vacation in Sagada (we had the pleasure of his and Joy’s company for the trip). We had planned for them to join us in Bohol, but we ended up going on our own. I felt like I never lost touch with Tengkie though, because Alfred would always update me about him.

Then several months ago, I saw something on his FB status that made me smile: he was picking up someone! Tengkie has a girlfriend and he’s going public with the news! You see, he’s always been kind of private about his many trysts and affairs, haha. So when we heard about Bevs, we kinda predicted that she was going the be the one. And she is.

Too bad we didn’t get to talk to them much during the reception, that’s as expected I guess because they also have a lot of well-wishers. The boys were planning on getting together this evening for drinks, but I heard it didn’t push through either. I wonder if they’d be staying with the groom’s family in Cavite, or with the bride’s in Taytay? For all I know maybe they’re already looking at homes for sale or at least saving for one. Boyfriend says they’d probably be staying in Cavite for now. At least there’d be someone to help them take care of their first born when he/she comes out later this year

I’ll post pictures tomorrow!

A gentle pat on the back, a simple kudos email, small treats like these chocolate polvoron; sometimes that’s all it takes to show your people that you recognize their achievements and appreciate all their hard work.

When I first became a TM, I’d buy gummy bears for the team, and all sorts of candy treats that would keep them awake during their shift. When I moved on to other LOBs, I still took the habit with me. Sometimes we’d have donuts, or I’ll even bake them cupcakes. When I don’t have much extra money, Flat Tops or Cloud 9 would do. Since we have a payday bazaar, I’d share my finds with them, like those super yummy Choco cupcakes with fudge icing. Recently, it’s been these chocvorons that I hand out to the agents. (I don’t think I’d be doing that much anymore, to discourage them from eating right on their stations, haha.)

****

Yesterday I found out from my friend’s post that she’s pregnant, possibly with twins! No wonder the boyfriend says she looks bigger than normal (they work in the same building in Makati and he’s seen her recently, when I haven’t seen her in maybe six months or so). Well, she hasn’t actually confirmed details yet, but that’s amazing news. Her eldest is about 3 or 4 years old already and will probably make an awesome big sister She should definitely start looking for prenatal vitamins; I know that when it comes to pregnancy and caring for your baby it’s not one size fits all, there’s so much to consider. If I remember correctly she had to stop working during her first pregnancy on her doctors’ advise, I hope that doesn’t have to happen this time around.