Happy Birthday, Grandma!

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We celebrated Mom’s birthday a day early, with a big family lunch at Vikings, SM North The Block.  Just like last year, Amir’s antics made it an even more fun and interesting lunch date. Hehe.

The party had the same attendees as last year: my parents, Alfred, Amir and his parents, with the addition of Eia, Diane’s sister. Except for Alfred and myself, it was everyone else’s first time at Vikings. We didn’t get to reserve a table in advance, but we only had to wait about 10 minutes to be seated. Amir was under three feet and was in for free, which was a good thing because he hardly ate anything really. He did seem to have a lot of fun dancing to the waiters who sang happy birthday to all the celebrants. Before we left, he also had the chance to walk and run around the restaurant.

We all had food that we liked, nothing was wasted because everything tasted really good. We also got to talk about other buffets and agreed that Vikings is definitely a cut above the Kamayan/Dads/Saisaki buffet. The ambiance was also what one would expect from a hotel buffet area, except they didn’t have custom tablecloths with logo on them. The decor was nice and mostly elegant, and the chairs had nice upholstery.

It would have been a good time to take a complete family photo for my journal, but we didn’t get the time to do that before the table was cluttered with empty plates and glasses. After lunch, my brother took Diane and Eia for some school supply shopping, while Mom and Dad watched Amir. I finally got myself a bottle of Novuhair and some cold medicine for Alfred. Amir only stayed still while nibbling on some Mrs. Fields cookies, but he wasn’t even done with the second one when he got off the chair to run around again!

I had a really boring weekend, if not for today’s lunch. Sometimes though, boring is okay specially when you have colds, cough, and headaches. How was your weekend?

Alunsina Handbound Books

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The first time I held an Alunsina Handbound book in my hand was at the 10A Alabama Arts and Craft Fair before Christmas 2011. I liked it, but skipped buying. I wanted to get one only if I were sure to use it.

This month, I held my own handmade book.

Verabear's Alunsina Journal

I loved it from the moment I laid eyes on it. It came packaged in brown paper, tied up with string. The leather is so soft and didn’t make the book heavy at all. The paper is so soft and smooth and felt like it was really really meant for writing. All I can think of to describe the paper was buttery soft. 🙂

As if being handmade wasn’t personal enough, I love that the artisans who made my book attached a hand written note to the package. It truly felt like it was a gift, rather than a purchase. And in some way, I do consider it a gift.

Alunsina Handbound Books

I’ve written my first page. My handwriting, sadly, didn’t magically become better looking. Haha. But I wrote my intention of making this book a chronicle of my life in my 31 years. I will be turning 32 next month and before I do, I’d love to fill this book with photos of what made my 31st year an awesome one. Hideous as it may look, I will snap a photo of my stitches and add them in. It’s a huge part of why I want this book made right now. I’ve never been good at keeping up with memory keeping projects, so wish me luck on this one 🙂

Check them out on Facebook if you want your own Alunsina Handbound Book. If you’re the type who uses Moleskin notebooks, consider this a better alternative. It’s beautiful, local and handmade.

Sleeping it Off

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I’ve been going back to work everyday for the past two weeks, but I’m absent for today’s shift. I knew I’ve had allergic rhinitis attacks in the mornings since last week but yesterday I woke up with a clogged but runny nose. It did not get better with water therapy. I knew coffee wasn’t bound to help (I was told it promotes congestion) but I needed help to stay awake and focused so I fixed myself half a sachet of instant coffee. When I got home, I did nothing but sleep. Whenever I woke up on the couch, I’d complain to either Dad or my boyfriend that I was feeling so sick. My head felt so heavy, nose still runny, had a very sore throat, and I felt feverish.

In the afternoon, I got up to eat and popped OTC cold meds. After reading two chapters off A Clash of Kings, and doing two rows of crochet, I went back to sleep.

SLEEP.

 

I know that the natural remedy to colds is lots of sleep and lots of water. So I skipped work to catch up on sleep. Since getting back into the grind I felt like I have lost so much of it.

I worked the early shift (8PM-5AM) and mid-shifts (10PM) before but I was doing the closing shift again (2AM-11AM) for at least three weeks prior to my long medical leave. I always loved the closing shift. Being an opener only worked because we made arrangements for the boyfriend to have the same schedule as I do. When I was in the hospital his schedule got moved again and now we’re on opposite shifts and not the same weekends off. That is not helping. I try to stay up until he gets home but I just can’t. Truth is, the best time for me to sleep is 12 noon so I can get up feeling well rested at 6PM. But when I get home at 8 or 9 in the morning, I just can’t stay up. So I sleep way too early and wake up four hours later. I stay up for two hours before I get sleepy again and then try to get some more rest before I absolutely need to get ready for work. I hate that pattern but it’s become the story of my life. I hope it only takes one more week to adjust.

Right now, my back hurts a bit. It does that sometimes. It’s not too painful that I’d need to take any medicine, but it hurts enough to remind me that I probably need to be a little more aggressive in my almost non-existent effort to lose weight. And that I should also do the back exercises my therapists used to make me do.  I know that getting home tired isn’t an excuse to not making time for exercising but it’s just so easy to use that excuse. I’m also always blaming the boyfriend for not being fit, my argument is that if he made time for it, I would too. But he’s not responsible for my body, I am. If he doesn’t feel that it’s urgent that he lose his belly flat, well it’s a very urgent thing for me.

Besides, if I am to do any travelling soon, I’d better get my stamina built up again. I can’t be tired after only 5 minutes of walking, can I? Too bad sleeping doesn’t miraculously slough off the pounds…

There’s an App for That

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Since switching to an iPhone4 over two years ago, it’s been hard to imagine holding any other mobile phone – smart or otherwise. I loved how it felt in my hand, there were apps I’d gotten to use on a day to day basis. I was online and connected whenever I wanted or needed.

When our two year lock-in period expired and the iPhone5 was offered to us with a minimal fee, we didn’t think twice about upgrading.

Though I’ve only had my white iPhone 5 for close to six months, there have been so many smart phones released that really rivals it. Better cameras, bigger HD screens, cheaper alternatives. I did have a crush on the Nokia Lumia but it was nowhere serious  that I’d dump my beloved phone.

And then via Geeky Gadgets I see this video of life-changing apps on the iOS. All the more reason to love.



Smart phones and smart apps really can alleviate quality of life when matched with the people who need them. Of course, the phone and the apps may not be that affordable for the marginalized Pinoy, but just knowing that this can happen for someone else out there, we can hold on to the hope that we can make something like it a reality for our reality too. Pinoy phone brands have come up with their own low-cost Android smart phones. Many iOS apps have their Android counterparts, perhaps the life-changing apps can too. I know that there are many talented and smart Pinoy developers out there who will see a need for something, and have the passion to make the app for it.

I’ve also become more and more interested in integrating both my phone and my tablet to make me more efficient in life. This, unfortunately, still remains to be seen. 🙂

Alfred and I are also looking forward to the release of iOS 7, bringing with it a new color scheme, and a whole new look to the icons and apps. Iphoneography is bound to be even more interesting with built in filters. The new Notification and Control Centers also look to eliminate a few swipes just to get to specific things or settings. Going through the various active apps will also be easier. Check out all the new features on the official iOS7 page.

Happy Birthday Badong!

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Photo Jun 10, 2 16 53 PM

Alfred/Dodong turned 34 on June 8. We had dinner at Viking’s at the MOA with his parents and his big brother (his eldest brother lives in Malaysia with his family). I must really have lost a bit of my tummy kasi just like people at work, the complimented me for looking better after the operation. The boyfriend still isn’t convinced though. Hah!

bdayvikings

He had to make reservations a week in advance just to be sure we’d be seated in time for a 7PM dinner. Ang daming tao, and at least 20 people siguro were birthday celebrants. He didn’t want the crew to sing him the birthday song but we told him he can’t avail of the free birthday dinner without it. 🙂

I didn’t eat much. I only had a plate of salmon sashimi instead of the usual 2 or 3! That’s what happens when you’re not used to eating so much anymore. And when you have your monthly period. Ugh.

After dinner, we headed to his cousin’s in Sta. Cruz for a booze fest. I only had a glass of rhum cola because I was the designated driver, but the birthday boy got a lot to drink. He would have bought his kuya’s PS3 on the spot if I wasn’t there to stop him, LOL. Let’s get a LED TV first, before a console. Haha! Then we have to shop for premier TV mounts too, and then get Move, but not before getting the new shelves+workstation setup first. Hmm…

Last year we kicked off his birthday week at Wil’s Steaktown. Then we had a flat tire en route to his birthday celebration in his kuya’s Pasay bar. This year’s event went without any hitch. He was even welcomed with fireworks as soon as we stepped off the car outside Vikings. 🙂

His 33rd year was a good one, this next one could only be better. Happy birthday babe!

 

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