On Being Grateful and Choosing Happiness

It’s been days after Christmas and only three days left before the New Year is here.  While some still stays in their bed longer than usual, taking advantage of some of the holiday’s privileges - unlimited rest and sleep, being work-free and doing nothing, I found myself in our warehouse picking some linens, décor materials and catering utensils.  Then I went straight to a Clubhouse where a gathering will be held and started preparing tables and chairs with the help of DH's nephews.

Yesterday, DH’s family had their annual reunion and the kids were actually the most excited about it, they are happily looking forward to it every year, buti pa sila hehe.  It’s sad that some family members were abroad however, what makes sadder is having families who were here and yet didn’t want to be part of the gathering, I can only just sigh.

While some tried to reach out to estranged families, the latter still chose to be excluded and they even grew in number, haay. No matter how you try to stay calm and positive, I realize that we can only do so much especially if we have already step our foot first towards the path of reconciliation. I guess we’ll just have to accept things the way it is right now, and maybe, pray and hope that in time, everything will go back to how it used to be.

Start them young...

Last week was a special bonding moment with my first born. He was part of the service team for our client in Ortigas. He was one of the buffet attendants/food server and his salary for barely half a day of work is 150 and a jollibee treat. He was very happy receiving his first hard-earned money out of doing a 'job'. He was complaining for a sore arm but anticipating his next schedule already :).

In the photo, he's wearing our 'staff uniform', I choose a size that fits him and asked him to do a few tasks like fixing the spoon & fork in the buffet table so I could take his photo where he's supposed to be 'busy doing something' hehe.  I'm glad that Kuya never complains, I can see that he was having fun doing his 'job'. 

I guess it's paying off now, I've always been vocal to him about working hard and earning your worth in time. That whenever he wants something, especially material things, he needs to work on it and be deserving of it. I may not be a perfect parent but the wisdom of great sacrifice, hard work and gratitude lives in me. I was able to send myself to college by juggling school and work, had my first corporate job even before graduation, completed college and eventually helped provide for the family. For all these things, I'm grateful to the LORD for He strengthens me. He blessed me with a fighting heart that made me not give up amidst the struggles. It was indeed a beautiful journey, a story worth retelling.  And it's a gift I want to pass on to my children too, Im glad it is slowly making sense to Kuya, I'm a proud momshie hehe.

Do the hustle!

When weekend is supposed to be for fun, chill-out and netflix-ing in bed after a week of being a night owl worker, still, I have to be in an event to personally see everything's well and good. Never mind if I've been a zombie for 24 hours or more as long as I get to see my staff are well and doing good in their jobs, my client's fulfilled, the guests' are happy and 'filled', okay na yun. Even if I got colds and headache dahil naulanan at puyat pero, laban pa din.

So, this is exactly what I felt after seeing the set-up of our event yesterday. Despite the pagod and puyat the past days, it always become an automatic pambawi kapag succesful ang event. Owning a business while being employed is indeed tiring and stressful because you really have to spend time and effort on both and owning a business that is events-related, there's a lot more of stress to expect. 

I've been doing events for the past three years but it's only last year when I decided to go back to work again, primarily because I wanted to earn a little more to support our catering business since my other partners and I decided to go separate paths late last year. I needed to earn extra to buy stuff and equipment that was taken out of the original inventory when we had our 'assets division'. Someday soon, I will be able to concentrate on this business and I won't need to indulge my time doing two different things at the same time. 

Yesterday's another kind of 'Do the Hustle' day and while I am helping out the waiters putting chair covers, I imaginatively hears Van McCoy popular disco hit playing in my head, so when I got home I downloaded.  I will soon transfer it to my iPod so it will be my 'pick me up' song whenever I'm feeling exhausted.

Nothing much to say because I'm still taking advantage of time to regain strength and sleep. Certainly, there will be a related/follow-up post about the event's theme and other details, hopefully I'll be able to post this weekend :)  So for my closing words, let me leave here my self-coined #WhenggieSpeaks quotes:

"It's when you hustle and put love in it that makes the difficult stuff bearable"

Making a Decision to a Lifetime Covenant

Early this year, DH and I decided to attend a Wedding Preparation Seminar held at Victory Christian church. I was a little surprised when he agreed to my suggestion of attending the seminar.  I thought it wasn't easy to indulge him but I was wrong, he was more than willing. 

The seminar was a three hour session for three Saturdays and it was a little bit hard on my part to commit to it because I'm coming from a night shift work on Fridays. Contrary to my ‘future husband’ who was always early and ready and that is despite he comes from a night time work too sometimes. I guess that is one aspect I cannot win over him, committing to something and really devoting time and so much effort to it.  There are times he would keep bugging me to finish my work immediately because he doesn’t want us to be late even if the church is just a three minute walk from our house, that’s how serious he was.  For the longest time, I never thought that we will come to this point where we would actually be preparing now for the one BIG day we’ve been anticipating for all these years and he’s more excited than I am. This is indeed an early provision this year and I’m so grateful the LORD has made it possible very soon.

Bounty Agro Ventures Inc. (BAVI) opens doors of opportunities to PWDs

Most companies would think twice about employing Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) when they can hire people who are perfectly able. But for Bounty Agro Ventures Inc. (BAVI), providing work to PWDs also benefits companies and their employees.

BAVI is one of the local companies that have partnered with Unilab Foundation for Project Inclusion, a program that helps PWDs obtain and sustain jobs in an actual work environment, giving them renewed hope and confidence in their talents and abilities.

Aljune Atok suffers from visual impairment, having completely lost sight in his left eye. Despite his condition, the 26-year-old has found work at BAVI and has been a junior programmer in the information systems department for nearly a year.

Aljune grew up in Leyte. After earning his college degree and finishing with Latin honors, he went to Manila to find a good paying job. He recounts that at first, he had to face the fear of discrimination.

“Hindi naman nila sinasabi directly, pero alam mo na ‘yon ang ibig nilang sabihin. Bakit nga naman kasi sila mag-i-invest sa ganito, kung pwede naman sila mag-hire ng abled,” said Aljune.

However, Aljune did not allow this fear to hamper his goal of landing a permanent job with regular pay. Through his perseverance and determination, he was endorsed by a former superior to Project Inclusion, which later on brought him to BAVI.

   

“What we admire most about Aljune is his attitude towards work. He goes to work every day, eager to learn more and develop new skills,” shared Senior Supervisor Alistair Javillonar. He added that the team is inspired by Aljune’s behaviour and they believe in his ability to perform beyond his disability.

CELINE DION LIVE IN MANILA ON JULY 19!

This is a total OMG moment when I heard the news on TV today, Finally, Celine Dion’s much awaited concert here in the Philippines is pushing through after it was cancelled last year. The world-renowned singer is set to perform live in Manila on July 19 at the Mall of Asia Arena and I will not be surprised if the tickets sale will run out fast.

My fan girl heart is gushing over it, I couldn’t contain the excitement and as early as now, I am day dreaming I am seating right in front of her, listening to her while she sings her iconic songs. More than being the legendary singer of Titanic’s movie theme song, Celine Dion’s ‘I Love You Goodbye‘ has become the go-to-song of the broken-hearted souls, and that includes me? Haha I don’t know but the song is just right everything about the ‘feels‘.  And I guess all her songs indeed made a big impact to a lot of people’s lives whether inlove or out of love.  I think I want to thank her too just now for I was able to bounce back immediately from being misserable when I experience those so called heart-aches when I was stil a kid at heart. Because now I realize  a lot of jokes happen during your your childhood and somehow, there’s a Celine Dion who will make you wait for your own forever in time, through her songs...ansabeh??!

Jollibee celebrates milestone 40th year with anniversary anthem featuring Gary Valenciano and Sarah Geronimo

Mr. Pure Energy Gary Valenciano and Popstar Royalty Sarah Geronimo join forces for a one-of-a-kind collaboration that capture the joy-filled stories of Filipinos to mark the 40^th anniversary of the country’s number one fast food chain.

Apat na Dekada. Jollibee marks 40 years of spreading joy with a new anniversary jingle,
performed by two of the country’s biggest stars, Gary Valenciano and Sarah Geronimo. 

Entitled ‘Apat na Dekada’, the upbeat and heart-warming song encapsulates four decades of joyful moments shared with generations of Filipinos who have made Jollibee a part of their lives. The song was composed by Thyro Alfaro in collaboration with Jollibee’s creative agency, McCann World Group Philippines.

For the past 40 years, Jollibee has been a home to stars who have served as their brand ambassadors. The stellar list includes Sarah and Gary who headlined some of the most memorable Jollibee campaigns but none quite as special as the 40^th anniversary anthem.

Take SM Cinema On the Go with New App

Your favorite cinema is now app-cesible! Skip the long lines and go straight to your movie – SM Cinema launches its free app for quicker reservations and paperless movie tickets.

SM Cinema developed its very own app that allows you to find your preferred movie at the nearest theatre, reserve or purchase your tickets in seconds and directly enter the cinema through a QR code that you could scan at the gate. You can avoid arriving early, waiting in line, or printing your ticket at the booth and focus on the movie magic instead.

Unilab’s New Athena Milk and Crave Healthy Snacks for Women

Now that the feast is over and the season of ‘every-day-chit-day’ has come to an end, it is like a regular rule to go back to healthy eating or at least include it (for the nth time every year J) to our New Year’s resolution.  Because I’m a firm believer that diet should not be in any way boring, I am glad that Unilab has these products that could support our needs for healthy snack and beverage that you can’t even feel you are depriving yourself – the Athena Milk and Crave Healthy J.

ATHENA