FatShaming

While browsing my Facebook feed, I've come across some posts where someone complimented someone for looking good because they lost some weight.

It got me thinking. Does she mean that she does not look good before because she is fat or because she looks unhealthy that is why the additional weight does not look good on her?

It is 2016.Let's stop fat-shaming ourselves. Let's stop fat-shaming other people. Let's not be clouded with insecurity that fat is bad and skinny is good.

One body-image warrior said that being body-positive is not an idea or advocacy. It is a journey and war. One that we must keep on fighting until the world accepts that we all come from different shapes and sizes.

There are days...

There are days when you just want to be taken care of. There are days that you just want someone to take over everything and you can do nothing. There are days you just want someone to say, "It's okay, I am here" so you can relax. There are days...

I love being single because I am still in the process of learning everything about myself. How I react on certain situations by myself.

I love helping my family, my friends and everyone. I don't want to think of it as a burden but more of a challenge. Maybe it's because there are times that I am tempted to do something else. Some wants to have kids on their own at an early but responsible age, while I, want to travel, splurge on things while I am young and single. Because for me, once you have a family of your own, you no longer have to think of yourself, their needs and wants comes first and I am so not ready for that. As I said, I am in the process of learning about myself.

My uncle always tell me, I am the captain of our family.I am the leader of our generation in our clan. Because I have visions, I always like to plan ahead, I think ahead, and I work ahead. It is actually a flattering statement coming from someone I look up to, but there is a big responsibility that comes with it. I have to make sure that my family, including my cousins are all okay, monitored and connected to one another. I have to make sure that family is still family even when they are gone.

He said I got it from my mother who is the eldest of 8. But a part of me want to protest, how about me? What if I don't want to be a leader? I am the youngest in my family and supposedly the youngest are the one that is spoiled, self-centered and all but apparently not. I mean, none to any of me and my siblings, but in the natural order of things, the eldest is the leader and the rest should follow. But not with us.

Don't get me wrong, I don't blame anyone for my responsibility, but again, there are days you just want to lounge around, hang out, you know, stop and smell the flowers, be a bum.

I'm also human, in as much as I want to do things without complaining, I tend to feel tired and worn out at times that is why I hope for days like those.

There are days..

Good Vibes

In a world where people choose to say nasty things to one another, to back-stab each other, these two videos restored my faith in humanity. (I'm afraid I can't post the videos because I wasn't able to ask permission if I could post it).

I live a happy life. I mean, I don't have a perfect world where everything I want and needs are all there. But I am learning to live within my means, maximize what I have in terms of people and things and emotions, and at the same time, I try to practice to always see the good in everything. But there are times, or days that negative people will always find their way to influence you. We still have to admit that in order for things to be balance, they will always be there, the pros and cons. yin and yang.

Anyways, one thing I am always proud is I managed to keep close to my friends in college. We were blockmates on our first year and ended being friends for more than a decade now. We have our own lives to live but our friendship remained strong. There were fights, yes, but we surpassed them all. I can say we are at the point of our lives that each has its own path now but we always know we will have each other's back for life.

Since one of our friends got engaged, we created this group chat in Facebook to keep track of each other's whereabouts. After the wedding, we continued the group chat to keep track of one another. In this chat, we talked about everything under the sun, wedding bliss, expectant mothers, and single-blessedness among other things. Until one day, our sister, Rachel asked for prayers for her father who recently got his foot amputated due to diabetes complications. I guess you could say the condition got worse because months after the surgery, he was blabbering that his day is about to come, and when they had reunion last Christmas, instead of being a happy event, it turned out to be a sad one because he is saying goodbye to everyone.

Rachel said he has been talking nonstop for days now. Like he always leaves what to do when he's gone, where to bury him, what he wants to do or who he wants to see..

One of his requests is to see Jayjay Helterbrand and Mark Caguioa, two of his most favorite basketball players from Barangay Ginebra. (For the benefit of others, basketball is like everyone's favorite game of Filipinos). They knew it is impossible for them to do that because they don't have the means but they also don't have the heart to disappoint the old man.

Rachel and his siblings come up with the idea of spreading the news online. She made a public plea for her father to see his idols or at least get a video clip from them. She shared it to us, her friends, and we also shared it to our friends and so on. She made her account on public so everyone can get in touch of her. Within 24 hours of massive sharing of this plea to different social media accounts, one of our college classmate, who's husband's friend is a friend of these guys heard our plea! She was able to get a hold of Mr. Helterbrand, managed to get a video and next thing is Mr. Caguioa!

We were all so overwhelmed with the response of people who helped Rachel and her siblings for this. Few hours after, her father's photo and the video greeting were posted in the team's official fan page and everyone is sending their be-strong messages to the family.

Some says faith in humanity is restored. Indeed it is. This should be the main purpose of social media aside from being reunited with friends or families around the globe. It shouldn't be to bash, or degrade or belittle someone.

Can I also say how proud I am of my friends? We did not do much but the fact that we easily agreed to share the plea, to make Rachel smile despite what she is going through is enough proof that this friendship knows no boundaries.

Taken during our annual Christmas Dinner Tradition together with their kids

Four Years...

It was the middle of year 2010, I quit my job in 24/7. And since I cannot afford to be jobless for a while, a friend referred me to Teletech Customer Care Management, Philippines. 

August 02, 2010. First day of work. In a room of 20 hopeful trainess and 1 trainer, my life in Teletech began. A friend once told me, I am Miss Friendship, and I think even my Mama would attest to it. You can leave me not knowing anyone in one corner but few minutes after, I will manage to have a friend. 

Meet USCR 7. That's the name of my wave. They said training days are a bliss. You get paid without taking calls. So I enjoyed it as much as everybody did. 

That's us with Boss Mike and OM Aisha

By the time I hit the production, we were still a team. Fortunately, since we were one of the first few batches, we manage to have one team. But I was closest to the girls. But these four manage to leave an impact on my life. 

My Shupatembangs (Carla, Me, Glaiza, Urville and Anna)

These four were the closest to me among our wave. We all have our own differences, but we all have something in common, our Love to Travel. We all get giddy and excited whenever we would talk about our dream destination, dream adventure and other things. They were the major reason why it took me a while to decide leaving the company, because I did not only find my travel buddies there, but I found my real friends in them. 

Then the rigodon happened, we were all shuffled to different teams because of the change. I was so devastated then. I invested too much emotion on the team and the idea of being transferred to another one was too much for me to handle. 

meet Team Sharifa

Glaiza (one of the closest to me) knew Sam or Sharifa and she assured me I will be in good hands.. During my stay sa kanya, we were okay as supervisor and agent. Not until she has to be given a new set of agents. After I was transferred to another team, only then, Sam and I became friends. 

 Team Earl

Then there's Team Earl. Then we were transferred to Chat from Residential Billing. We all welcomed the change then... 

In Teletech, it is where I experienced my first out of the country trip, thanks to my shupatembangs who made it happen. It is where we managed to learn how we respond on things. 

at Ocean Park, Hong Kong

It is also in Teletech, I've been to other places I never thought I would go, get to experience what they had to offer, be a local or just enjoy how beautiful this world is. 

 me in Bato Springs, Quezon

The Ruins, Bacolod

 white water rafting in Cagayan De Oro

 some hotel in Macau

Abra De Ilog, Occidental Mindoro

in a cozy beach in Samar

And then, I had to be moved to another Team Leader. TL Cherry. I am getting used to the idea of being transferred from one leader to the other. It is in her team when I enjoyed being alone. Since we handle Chat service, we were not required to take calls unless the call volume would said so. 

this is our latest picture when we watched 50 shades of grey

I am happy to know that even though we were incomplete in the photo, and we are no longer team mates, we managed to see each other once in a while to have fun from time to time. 

And then, another change happened. Nalipat ako sa Connected Home. I had to be separated to the team again. Good thing, mababait at welcoming ang new team ko. at first, aside from being sabaw with the changes, super tinatamad na naman ako. Pero I was wrong. It turned out, the team I was moved to, were great. I found new set of friends.

Meet Jabe, Sasan and Dee.. Missing in photo na naman si ate Helen, hahaha! Anyways, mali na naman ako ng inakala na hindi ko sila makakasundo, dahil next thing I knew, sila ang karamay ko nung time na kabadong kabado ako if itutuloy ko pa ba ang pag alis o hindi. Medyo malala ang sepanx ko sa kanila dahil sumabay pa na nag change location ang office, nagkaroon ng rigodon, at may nakasabay ako na nagresign... Pero alam ko, hindi ko man sila makita ng madalas, friends pa din kaming lahat...

After four years of staying in the company, masasabi ko na sila ang dahilan why I stayed and also decided to leave. In as much as I want to be with them at all times, kailangan ko isipin na hindi na ako masaya sa trabaho. It took me a while to admit na walang nangyari sa akin sa apat na taon when it comes to my career. Marami man akong lugar na puntahan, marami man akong tao na makilala, hindi mawawala ang dahilan na walang nangyari sa career ko.

So, going back to my introduction... I quit. I decided to leave again. This time, I wanted to try if I can make it somewhere overseas, away from everyone. I wanted to start on a clean slate. Gusto ko ibalik yung dating personality ko na observer, yung lahat inaabsorb ko, yung dahilan bakit ako napansin na may potential ako. Gusto ko patunayan sa sarili ko na, kaya ko, at kakayanin ko.

Baon ang lahat ng natutunan ko sa Pilipinas, kaunting pocket money, maraming dasal, at sangkatutak na lakas ng loob at positivity, heto ako ngayon sa UAE. Nagbabakasakali. Nagbabakasakali sa bagong buhay.

So really, feeling ko naman ang buhay ko is not all about failure. Yes, I failed. Yes, I resigned. But I am trying to do something about it. Hindi ako nagpakain sa takot ko. This goes to everyone who got themselves in a mess too... That you can get out of it. We all can get out of it. We can all start again..


Love,

AngelSmile02

To my friends...

Tell me who your friends are, and I will tell you who you are.. 

I had a total of Seven Send Off Dinner/EatOut with my friends (not including the last one i had with my family), i was feeling anxious how things will turn out days before my flight.. After each of those despedida, i only have nothing on my heart except for love, hope, and positivity.

To my Shupatembang, Team Clingy, Friday Girls, Jaboom Twins, HS Barkada, Catie and Wackie and Team Sherr. Maraming salamat for you guys took the time to be with me.. You have no idea kung paano magpigil na huwag umiyak sa idea na pupunta ka sa isang lugar na wala kang kaibigan. Pero ginusto ko to, inumpisahan ko to, at papanindigan ko to. Hanggang sa muling pagkikita, sa susunod na gimik, at sa susunod na walwal moments mga kaibigan! Cheers! I love you all! 

Thoughts

Writing this while almost everyone is sleeping.. 

Ang dami dami pumapasok sa isip ko what will happen to me right after I get off from this plane. Pero one thing is certain, things will never be the same again. Umayon man o hindi sa plano ko, things will definitely change. 

Ginusto ko to eh. Inisip at pinlano ko to. Panindigan ko dapat di ba? I was asking for change. Itapon ang lahat ng naumpisahan sa Pilipinas. Hingang malalim. Kaya ko to. 

Going Loca @ Locavore

When I worked with 24/7, I had three girl friends (Mic, Kei and Teejay). We call ourselves Friday Girls. Because we normally go out every Fridays after a hard days at work. We would try different restaurants in the metro that is within our budget. And it is said that Great Bonds were formed during meal time. 

Anyways, since it has been a while when we were complete, as part of my send off dinner, they agreed to meet up and I get to pick the place. I chose Locavore in Pasig. I am fond of reading blogs, food reviews, and stalking celebrities instagram posts, and Locavore has always been on their list. It seemed that the place has some sort of Conyo vibe. 

For starters, we had Singkamas and Mangga (Php 180), its the regular slice of Mangoes and Turnip with three different dips, Patis Asukal (Sugared Fish Sauce), Chili Smoked Rock Salt, and Shrimp Paste. 

We also had Kinilaw Platter (Php380). It is similar to Kilawin, where it is a raw meat or seafood where its main ingredient is Vinegar or anything that has acidic solution. We were given three types of Kinilaw, one with tuna (left), tanigue (middle) and shrimp (right). Apparently not everyone in our group has a thing for raw meat, they said it is an acquired taste but I like how it was mixed with shallots and mangoes to remove the gamey of the meat. 

And then we had Lechon and Oyster Sisig (Top) Php400 and Sizzling Sinigang (Bottom) Php530, and both were great! The sisig were crunchy and very tasty. While the Sizzling Sinigang was something to look forward to, it is Beef Short Ribs and they sauteed the french beans, instead of the regular soupy sinigang, it was served as a gravy and even my friend who's not adventurous with food loved the dish.

Last on our viands list was the Kare Kare Wings (Php295), I think Chicken Wings is originally a starter meal but since it was coated with Kare Kare sauce, it passed as a viand for us! This is another dish I appreciate that it was crispy and tasty and saucy at the same time. 

For our dessert, this is a homemade Leche Flan with Dulce De Leche sauce (Php200) and its a good thing we ordered it. It was to die for! It wasn't too sweet but very tasty that for me, you don't even need the sauce. 

All in all, our group paid around Php2300 for the entire meal including a platter of rice which is good for 5-6 persons. 

I will give them a 4 out of 5 stars. The ambience was great, it was very laid back actually, the food is also great, it is indeed a filipino dish with a twist, but the parking isn't, though we came in early so we had no problem parking our car. 

And this was us! 

Love, 

AngelSmile02