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.

Do I really want to get married in December?

Last night, Alfred commented that it’s me who doesn’t really think of getting married this year. Where’s this coming from? Basically, he’s set the date and has told anyone who asks (okay, not all) of the plan. But I keep on challenging him; playing the devil’s advocate. Will we have the budget to make this happen? That’s my primary concern. I am sure we will still be together by that time, I’m just not sure if we will have the money to make it happen the way we want it. Or the way I want it.

We both are not so good at saving money. The biggest problem: spending the money even before we have it. My credit card allowed for that behavior; it’s a bad habit and I’m trying to break it for both of us. I’ve talked about saving before and even shared what the plan is this year. But I just can’t be so sure we have enough time.

Truthfully, we should have started this a long time ago. Back when I just started earning decently – like when my salary was doubled when I first worked in this company or when his also increased when he moved here, and then again when he moved to where he works now. But we didn’t. Sure I have a savings account, and I do have money in it but it isn’t even half of what my brother has saved up already even after loaning me the dough for getting our (condo) units beautified.

I can save – as evidenced by the two and a half year’s worth of loan payments I’ve already done. If I saved even half of that amount in the previous two years, I’d be well on my way to paying for a grand wedding. LOL. But I can be easily shaken too. When I say I want to buy something but feel like I don’t deserve it, the boyfriend is there to convince me that I actually do deserve the treat. He also tells me, for example, that buying new clothes is actually called for (which is true). Yes I have all the stuff I bought, and there’s plenty of evidence of all the good food I’ve eaten over the years, but there’s just not THAT much to show for the almost five years I’ve worked here. And I still owe my brother some money.

I realize that by blurting these words now, I am admitting a weakness. And it’s not just for myself but for the boyfriend too. That’s not good because I have no permission to do that. He reads my blog and I know his feelings might get hurt too. But I feel like I must get this out. Because I also know that no matter how his attitude towards saving is, there is no excuse for mine. And I can’t blame him for enabling my shopaholic tendencies or encouraging the swipe mentality. We should just both look forward and change the error of our old ways.

You know another reason I’m anxious about a December altar date? I don’t trust myself to lose enough weight to become the gorgeous blushing bride I want to be. That’s another thing I have to commit to actually do, and there is no time to waste. I must lose weight fast! :S

That’s what we keep on having. I almost always wake up feeling sore around the neck and shoulder area. Worse, I wake up with a very bad headache, just like what happened on Saturday morning. I have trouble going to bed too. I feel sleepy so I trudge over to my bedroom (or sometimes lay on the sofa), but then I lie awake for Gawd knows how long. Then there’s Alfred. He came home with colds yesterday and was really feeling sick. He says someone at work kept on sneezing right in front of him, and before he knew it, he was doing the same. Poor guy.

I think this started happening when I finished taking three months’ worth of the medication that the doctor gave me for my migraines. I don’t know if this means I’d already become dependent on the drug but I hope not. It’s just weird that I get headaches again now that I’m pretty much stress-free, at least compared when I still had my old post. Lol But what about the boyfriend?

What’s actually common between the two of us is that we’ve stopped taking nutritional supplements due to lack of supply. I bought this certain brand several months back and we’ve already gone through two sets. There’s three of us who used to take them regularly, my mom included. I’ve meant to re-stock but it costs a sum and I don’t want to go all the way to Makati to just get one set. I realized just now that I could actually have them shipped to me without added cost. Although, another option would be to buy through another friend who is actually thinking of signing up with that company too. I’d get my fix, and I help her get setup with that business at the same time. So I just have to cough up the cash for it. Hmm…

Of course, all this can actually just be further signs that I am once again gaining weight instead of losing it. I have to do something about this once and for all! (I know I keep on saying it. Empty words, no actions… sigh)