Time Has Wings

How fast time flies! If you have been following my posts, you would surely understand that I am a busy person, busier than others are, methinks.

But if there's one thing that March 1 reminds me, it is how fast time flies and you realize, you are already lacking time, and lacking time literally means you have to catch up and beat it; one thing you would never win if beating time is a race.

But there's one thing I must remind myself and that is to BREATHE!

Small Surprises

When we got home last night, my 5-year old daughter was very excited to show me her drawing, it's been everyday that she presents her achievements in school whether it be a perfect score in her subjects or a good smiley tattoo on the hand to mark her good job.

But I noticed that after my birthday, she has become busy on drawings and even making them into cards and last night, when we arrived, she showed this to us:

I was very happy. A complete family, and I could not ask for more. Knowing your daughter loves you even in her drawings is very sweet.

Now, who cannot be surprised with that? It may be a small surprise but I loved it anyway. It erased my sadness from the fact that my old phone, which the hubby now uses, was silently taken from his pocket by the "laglag-barya gang" yesterday morning on his way to the office. He said he was holding on to his backpack and a guy who has an accomplice with him, dropped a coin on the tricycle and was looking for it under the seats making him lift his jeans up. No way did he understand that all was "modus" for discreetly taking his property from him. He only noticed his phone was missing when he was already in the office. Now, who would ever think they were "devils" because the two wore really professional-looking clothes, fronting an office employee with a laptop bag. Darn!

But then again, I am thankful he was not harmed. Had he noticed the incident, who knows what he might have done and what those bastards could have done to him.

But thank God for small surprises!

And the Waiting Begins

Thursday came and I was grilled on the interview/deliberation. We were 9 applicants vying for only one regular position as Administrative Aide 6 for the DOLE. I was surprised there was only 9 from amongst the 25 on the first exam. But I am glad I was one of them. I prepared myself the night before, read about the department, and prepared myself for possible questions during the interview, to which some eventually were asked.

In the afternoon, we had to undergo an aptitude test, Grammar: ok. Vocabulary: ok. Math: Darn. There were ten items for each, which can be answered for only 10 minutes. The most difficult of all, Math. I don't even know if I answered one correct item. All items were answerable by multiple choices, however, you have to solve them using multi-operations, to which cannot be made possible because of the ten minutes pressured span of time. Ugh. Oh, and an essay needs to be written too, my favorite among them all.

But then again, should the selection board disregard the Math and focus on the resume, the interview and the essay, I think I fared well. The Lord God has given me knowledge and wisdom to answer the questions straight to the point and courteously.

But it still hangs, the result will be out on March 1-2. whatever happens, I am ready. God's will be done in my life. For the moment, all I can do is pray and wait.

Craving for some Migraine, NOT

For more than 4 months already, I have not been visited by really severe headaches aka migraines. There comes a time when visits aka attacks are lurking but it's just that: slight attacks.

Now, just when I wanted to give myself a migraine-free week because of my upcoming deliberation cum exam on Thursday, this fresh lumpia has been inviting me for a taste test. And the sad part of this craving, it comes with shredded kasuy (cashew nuts) as topping which makes it all the more delectable.

And cashew nuts are just migraine-inducing. Darn!

Well, I guess this just has to wait until after Thursday.

Happy Belated Heart's Day! The husby and I just had dinner at a Chinese restaurant with a Chinese friend. How did yours go?

Blow Me Some Luck

I am not one who really believes on luck, but there sure is nothing to lose if you think on the good luck stuff. I still prefer being able to prepare for the future and think of working on ways to achieve a dream you have been aiming at.

Remember the exams (with time pressured abstract and 300 personality items test) I have told you once? It's over and I took it last Thursday, that is the reason why this blog became silent after my birthday. I think I did good on that exam, really, the abstract to which I thought was really a difficult one the first time I took it, wasn't really that hard the second time, I even took it with a breeze. But then again, I am still jittery of the outcome. I have such low confidence on myself when it comes to exams.

Yesterday, I was really happy when one of the bosses told me to come back on Thursday for the deliberation, it's going to be a panel interview with the high officials of DOLE. Therefore, again, I am asking for your prayers, I need to be good in this interview because there are a number of applicants to this one post only. I hope to be given enough confidence and smartness to answer the questions shot at me.

I need this job badly, and I hope I can make it. Please include me in your prayers. Thanks. You can blow me some clover leaves for good luck too.

What's Next is Up to HIM

Okey, so I woke up today feeling all refreshed with strength renewed, said my prayers, and looking forward to what's gonna happen for the day. But it's really gonna be a busy day, a hectic Monday so to speak, work, eat, work, home. Nothing special except that -- it's my birthday!

Yes, Happy Birthday to ME! 33 years in this life and I am still alive and kicking, and I thank my God for preserving me up to now. I already celebrated the weekend with a blast even though all of those were advance celebrations, on Saturday with my friends in GenSan and yesterday, with my Mom and Dad and siblings in Marbel. So I feel complete already, everything is good. Nothing more to ask for the birthday, but good health and the best of everything, and of course, as always my prayer, that regular job in the government office. =)

My 32 years was spent to be a happy life, all the twists and turns were good and beneficial, even the trials and the hurts were all beneficial because it made me a stronger person. Today, allow me to just thank my Mom and Dad for sweating it all out to create me, because was it not for their libido, I wouldn't have been here! I thank my Mom and Dad because even if we don't have much, even if I lived my elementary and high school days with only two pairs of torn socks, that inspired me more and made me whole.

Returning back to the days when we were empty-handed, it just makes me realize how blessed I am since then and now, and how God has protected me and my family, and gave me showers of blessings even if I had been a bad girl.

And yes, I am 33 and what's next is up to HIM. But rest assured, I am still the same and getting better. Thank you too, dear friends for being my outlet, my listening ears to my rants and raves and the secrets this blog has kept.

And hey, I will just be in the office the whole day, so for those who wants to send flowers, gifts, balloons, chocolates, cash, you know where to find me. Hehehe, just making you laugh!

The Five (5) "S" I Have Learned

When I entered the government service last November, I was surprised that there was so much space in the office that everywhere I looked, there seemed to be space. It was not the kind of environment I was looking forward to. In my previous office, everything just seemed too occupied. Papers here and there, folders, books, trash. There was a lot more of these stuffs, and our cubicle even seemed like one storeroom of trash. I was expecting the same scenario in the new office, even worst because it is the government, too many people, too many things to do, too many things to prioritize.

But I was dead wrong. seeing the new office was quite a relief, at the same time, a wonder to me. Where did all the papers go? Why do they have to keep everything? Less paper and files on desks when in my previous working table, everything was just heaps of manuscripts to read.

I finally learned that they were told to try practicing the 5 S, these are: Seiri, Seiton, Seiso, Seiketsu, Shitsuke. I learned that this 5S came from the Japanese way of organizing things, it originally came from an organization that started using these Japanese terms starting with the letter S, as even transliterated into the English language and mire so, into our very own language.

The Five S in Japanese - English - Filipino Translations

Seiri - Sort - Suriin ang paligid.	Tidiness	Throw away all rubbish and unrelated materials in the workplace
Seiton Systematize - Simutin ang dumi.	Orderliness	Set everything in proper place for quick retrieval and storage
Seiso -Sweep - Siguraduhin ang kalinisan at kaayusan.	Cleanliness	Clean the workplace; everyone should be a janitor
Seiketsu - Standardize - Sundin ang patakaran sa paglilinis.	Standardization	Standardize the way of maintaining cleanliness
Shitsuke - Self-discipline - Saring-kusa	Discipline	Practice 'Five S' daily - make it a way of life; this also means 'commitment'

This is what the office follows and I was told that every now and then, there are some people who are checking on them if they are following the same. It is actually cool! I wanted to follow this too since i learned it, and I think it can easily be followed if you want it too, the first thing you really need to do is de-clutter. This is probably why the Japanese homes look so minimalist as they are following this program.

Have you heard of this 5S? Do you want to try this too? What are your tips to having a clutter-free home?