Tuesday, January 20, 2015
Cycle of Acceptance
Naisip ko, yes, some would think I live a very colorful life. Ang dami kong nagawa, napuntahan, at na experience these past 8 years. Pero come to think of it, nothing much or baka nga nothing happened on my career since I started working. Nasan ako? Agent pa din sa call center. Bakit nga ba hindi ko inaspire to push for other position? Bakit nga ba hindi ako nag excel para mapansin ng management? Anong mali sa nagawa ko? Compare to my friends, parang walang nangyari sa akin. Masyado ba akong naging happy go lucky nitong mga nakaraan taon?
I remember one article I read online. First stage is DENIAL. This is not happening. This isn't true. I am not failing. It is the situation that is wrong, not me. Hay, dineny ko pa na yes, napabayaan ko nga siya. I took my career for granted. Inisip ko, I finish college, madami akong puwedeng aplayan after nito. Hindi ko inisip na 8 years and counting na pala akong in denial sa sitwasyon ko. Nakakahiya. Ang sarap ko sampalin.
Second stage is ANGER. Eto na ang iba't ibang klase ng angst ko. I detached myself from friends. Nagalit ako sa lahat kasi napagiwanan ako. Kung sino sino sinisi ko. To the point na pati politics pinagbuntunan ko ng galit. In short, nag pin point ako who to blame why this is happening.
Third stage is DEPRESSION. For me, there is a thin line between ANGER and DEPRESSION. After ko sisihin ang kung sino sino, na depress ako, mas pinili ko to deal things on my own. Good thing sana yun if I am doing it to improve or heal myself. Pero hindi, I was sulking over the idea that I sucked. I failed. Eto na ung mga eksena na nakakahiya, ano na lang iisipin ng mga kamaganak ko. Sabi ko nga, I finish college, I should be on top pero wala, nganga. Nakakahiya. I even wanted to bury myself sa kahihiyan.
Fourth stage is BARGAINING. akala ko sa market lang to applicable pero sa buhay din pala. Eto ang start ng confusion ko. I have to weigh things literally. Dahil sa kapabayaan ko, I bargained things na dapat nakuha ko lahat kung hindi lang ako sinapian ng kapabayaan.
Final stage is ACCEPTANCE. My mama has always been our source of positivity. Even people around her can attest to it. I am my mother's daughter and I thank her for instilling in me that I should be able to surpass all this. I need to accept the fact na, i failed at this job, BUT just like a story, it has to end for new beginnings can come.
Why am I saying this? Walang nangyari sa career ko. Entry level kind of job na at my age hindi na dapat. Ayoko nang sisihin ang tinatawag na "Office Politics" na kesyo I don't want to kiss the bosses' ass kaya I am still here, na I don't want to be like them na kinakain na ng paninira sa iba makaangat lang. Saan ko nga ba uumpisahan ang change na gusto ko?
Sana this year, makuha ko na ang CHANGE na para sa akin. Sa Pilipinas man o hindi.
Monday, March 10, 2014
The Yabu Experience
Me and my food buddy and fellow kaladkarin, Glaiza, were thinking where to eat one Saturday afternoon. She hasn't eaten anything then, and I was a little hungry too, so after our little shopping splurge, we had to choose where to satisfy our thirst for good food/adventure. We were thinking between, Mad Mark's (I am not sure of the spelling), or somewhere else.
One thing I liked about Glorietta 5 in Makati is, even though it is a weekend, there were only few people strolling, eating and shopping in the area. Maybe because you really had to go there, unlike other parts of Glorietta that it is just beside the MRT, or just few distance from the bus station. Anyways, going back, Glaiza remembered that there is a branch of YABU in the area and we have been wanting to try it out since November of 2013.
Then Yabu it is. Upon arrival, the ambience was a little bit intimidating maybe because there was barely anyone there (location wise kasi, dadayuhin talaga siya so I guess not everyone is aware na may ganyang restaurant in the area)
We were ushered to our table, and in fairness, very prompt ang service! We were given the menu agad-agad, and though we were gutom, we still manage to go all thru the menu to check what we wanted.
After getting our orders, we were served this mini bowl of toasted sesame seeds, and a club shaped, pestle. You have to do the old style of grinding the sesame seeds for the aroma and flavor to break in. It smelled like our version of Pinipig. I just love the smell of it!
Afterwards, the waiter gave instructions how to use their selection of condiments. Sabi ni kuya waiter, you can pour three spoonfuls of their special yabu sauce, (extreme left in the photo), then three smaller bottle written in Japanese Characters were chili sauce, flakes, and oil so it is up to you na timplahan siya. The three tall bottles were for the cabbage salad dressing, and the last one (extreme right in the photo) were salt for the fruits.
What I had : Menchi.
I loved it! It's a mix of minced meat of beef and pork with cheese! I love everything that has dairy product on it. Yabu was not kidding when they said they do take their katsu's seriously. It was insanely tasteful! It was not nakakaumay given the fact na may dairy siya. Plus the Panko breadcrumbs that were used were fresh, and hindi nakakasugat ng gums whenever you have a bite on it. And I think one reason why hindi siya nakakasawa kasi hindi makapal ang breadcrumbs as oppose to the meat itself. Another thing is the way it was cook, it was not greasy at all! The color is bright, and golden and crisp!
Their Cabbage Salad is okay lang, Glaiza told me one Japanese Restaurant (within the area too) that she liked their cabbage salad better than Yabu's, I think it has something to do with the quality of the cabbage or the dressing itself. But Yabu's isn't that bad, don't get me wrong, it was good, but as always, there's better, or it could have been better, or something like that.
I also had bowl of fruits as part of my katsu set, apparently there were only two choices, watermelon and pineapple. I love these fruits and it was a bit of a hassle to ask numerous times for refill, because they were only giving one slice per fruit. But again, Katsu is their main thing, so wala akong masabi dun kundi 4 out of 5 stars! (I hope my vote counts for something)
All in all, the experience was good, and the person I was with then was not afraid to try new stuff so it probably added to the experience na rin. Most probably than not, I will be back. (^_^)
Sunday, November 10, 2013
WildFlour Cafe
I had always wanted to try their famous cronuts so with my food buddy glai, we indulged ourselves to this famous hybrid of pastry in the metro.
I liked their cronus but I love the one I had in Le Coeur De France (that's another story). It was flaky, airy and tasty. Since the texture is flaky, it tends to be messy when you eat. What I had is their Chocolate Cronut and Glai had their premium cronut version of Tiramisu. Both were chocolatey in taste, not too sweet but it was really flaky.
We also ordered their mac and cheese and it was a bliss! It was creamy, cheesy and the pasta is al dente which made it soo yummy for dairy lovers like me. (^_^)
I was craving for bread pudding that day, so i ordered for one when i saw it was available but it has a disclaimer wherein you have to allow 30 minutes for them to prepare. But it was worth the wait. The pudding has chocolate filling inside, it has powdered sugar on top to enhance the flavor of the bread and the pudding itself? Creamy and soft inside!
I once spoke to a customer who recommends vietnamese coffee for coffee enthusiasts like me. And since this hot drink is available, i gave in. And boy i tell you, it was yummy! Just my kind of sweetness and it's not that strong.
With the service we got? I'm a bit disappointed. We had to ask twice for my soda, had to repeat myself thrice for refilling my water. And it took quite a while for my take out order.
Thursday, September 19, 2013
Happy Birthday
Every year, consistent ako in spending my birthday eating out with family and friends. This year, aside from the fact i didn't plan for anything, hindi rin ako nag budget since wala nga akong plano.
Pero what i did differently is I did quite a few thinking.. For the past years, may na accomplish ba ako? May narating ba ako? May natutunan ba ako? I do not have a flourishing career, nor a successful lovelife.. One thing i am proud of is I experienced a LOT this year.. Travels, learnings and pains..
I have been to different places for quite sometime now. Been learning a lot not just from the people i met, but also about the experiences thru those travel. And pain because not every travel i had where smooth sailing... May nawala, may nadagdadan na friend, may nawala din..
Pero one thing i learned is wala akong pinagsisihan sa lahat ng yun... Good or bad, lahat yun helped me with the choices, or solutions i made today. Those experiences, made me firm about my stand.
Hopefully this year na uumpisahan ko, with the help of those experiences, ma accomplish ko naman ang career and lovelife. Although wala talaga sa isip ko ang latter, not in the next ten years.. :p
I just want a well lived life. A life na walang takot. Yung hindi ako natatakot maubusan ng finances both for my needs and family's needs, isama pa ang super dami kong wants. Yung life na kaya ko panindigan lahat ng desisyon ko, yung kaya ko magdesisyon for myself and hindi napupush ng iba.
Lastly, at the end of the day, i just want to make my mother proud.
Happy 27th to me!
Friday, May 3, 2013
Babies...
Thursday, January 10, 2013
TheSweetestAngel @ Lugang Cafe (Mall of Asia)
So we ended up at Lugang Cafe which is just a few minutes away from SMX. Lugang Cafe is a Shanghai based Bellagio restaurant. Ever since the restaurant had been opened, I always find myself giving it a second look, because the place looks intimidating and would make you think that it is a fine dining restaurant. The restaurant is stylish and quite hip because it's not the usual Chinese restaurant that we all are used at. They also have private rooms for small functions.
I was only able to shot this lovely bird cage lights and fell in love with it.
We only ordered few because some of the prices were a bit pricey. The serving can serve up to two persons. The menu is quite impressive too, every dish has pictures and would really entice you to drool over foods.
This is my personal favorite.
Sweet and Sour Pork : I like how the crunchiness of the pork when it was fried were maintained. I have tasted quite a lot of this dish with different restaurants but this is quite different. The sauce were glossy and just my kind of consistency. The pineapple used weren't too overpowering.
Spicy Clams : This one could have been a favorite. Apparently, not all the clams were cooked well. I must say, the sauce as usual is great but it did not live up to its name, it wasn't that spicy. I have a low tolerance for spiciness, so I asked my friend who was with me then and she said, it's only minimum to cater to everyone I guess.
We had Golden Fried Rice with shredded pork for rice meal. I wasn't able to take pictures of it because we were all hungry then. It has cucumber to have a twist from the regular fried rice I'm used at.
In between, I ordered Tapioca Pearl Bubble Milk Tea. I'm not really a milk tea person, but whenever I order one, I see to it, that I will enjoy it. This one is pure heaven! It doesn't have a bitter after taste which made oh so fine. (^_^)
And for our dessert, Mango Custard!!! In as much as I love Chicken, mangoes are my favorite too. So we tried this Custard and it was creamy although a bit bland for those who doesn't like sweets that much.
All in all, we enjoyed our experience at Lugang Cafe. The extensive array of desserts! Definitely one of the best ambiances we've been to.
We were only three and we only paid roughly 470Php / pax.
Happy Eating! ♥
- TheSweetestAngel (^_^)
Thursday, December 6, 2012
Being Fat and Fatbulous
I was having my morning coffee at a certain cafe along Edsa when I saw a woman, in her late twenties and is quite larger than the average. Or in short, MATABA. Nothing is wrong with her, physically just as I've thought. But some people who saw her, thinks otherwise. I was observing their reactions to the woman. Some just don't care at all, some just glance at her. What intrigued me was the reaction of these group, they were grinning from ear to ear, and to top it off, they were making fun of her weight. They were imitating the way she walk with exaggeration. The woman, noticed what they were doing and just walked away, embarrassed, her cheeks were red.
I was left there, thinking. Why was she embarrassed? Why did they make fun of her? Why was she not doing anything? And why do those kids acted that way?
Fat is an adjective. Fat is JUST a word. It should not define you, nor make you feel less about yourself. I, myself is also fat. I used to think that being fat is a hindrance. A hindrance for me to wear clothes, I wanna wear. Things, I want to do. Five years ago, gaining weight is a no no for me, that would be the end of my world. But I was wrong... Completely wrong... I shouldn't be thinking that way, I shouldn't be reacting that way.
When I first noticed I was gaining weight, I went thru a lot of stages. Yes, just like break up (",). I was in denial first. I would joke around that I was just filling the space in my clothes. I tend to eat more whenever I feel mad about people teasing me about my weight. I was cynical too, I would also compare others to my body. Why are they like this and I'm not. It was bad.
Until one day, my friend introduce me to this blog. The Plump Pinay. I didn't even know what the word Plump means until I googled it and learned its "well round" or "Chubby". It was Stacy and Danah Gutierrez who founded it. Two beautiful young ladies (they're younger than I am). The cynical in me thought "Hindi naman sila ganoon kataba for them to say that" But as I go over their blog, little by little, I am enlightened by their entries. How they wanted everyone to love their body, how they lifted each reader by reminding them how beautiful they are regardless of their sizes.
The Plump Pinay Stacy & Danah
Royal Plumpies
These two girls reminded me, my size, the woman's size should not be a hindrance in achieving self confidence. I'm not saying that I was depressed with my weight, but there were days where you feel "blah" about yourself.
My family from the mother side were also plus size. Nevertheless, I grew up thinking it is okay to be fat as long as your heart is healthy. I should not lose that principle.
Present time, I find it disappointing to know how people tend to discriminate women who's size are not 0-2. Sometimes, I hate to admit it but media has something to do with this. Because of things they advertise they forgot the value of equality. That not everyone who's skinny is healthy and not everyone who's fat is also healthy.
Let me qoute what the twins said,
"We have had enough-- enough with the stupid media that bombard very unnatural images that make us want to change every bit of our bodies. Enough with the Caucasian looking models that only make us want to hate our beautiful Filipina features. Enough suppressing our urges to eat good Filipino food just to look like the women shown by the advertisements in our country. ENOUGH. Not all people are meant to be thin as the media evoke"
Again, Fat is just an adjective. We can all be fat and Fabulous. The word should not define you, nor make you feel less about yourself. And besides, with how advance the technology now is, everyone has a fair share of things, regardless of size.
Now, let me go back to my opening, November 30 is Bonifacio Day. Andres Bonifacio is the man behind KKK. He fought for what he think what was right. I want to be like him, fighting for my right, fighting for equality., Let's all fight for our right, for our equality. Let's all try to have a small portion of Andres Bonifacio within us, we are after all a portion of his offspring right?
Next time, someone would say you're Fat, just say thank you. It's not bad as it looks like. Positive thinking, gets positive results. (^_^)
