Indulge your kiddie side.

February 17, 2012 – Almost late in the afternoon, we noticed the dreary clouds that sprawled across the sky. Then immediately rain came pouring down generously and folks settled indoors. But hey, it wasn’t even adequate to put a halt to our merrymaking mood.

It all started as a whim – a childish whim to celebrate a Jollibee birthday party. Lo and behold, it came true just like any magical wishes in our favourite fairy tales. Bob, Elaine and Vincent all celebrated their birthdays in the month of February. So off we go to their oh-so-famed KIDDIE PARTY! All dressed as kids and donning our Jollibee party hats, everyone was all hyped up to be kids again. Like any other parties, we all say our prayers for the birthday celebrants as well thanking God for the loads of blessings.

Now, let the party begin! Yeah, who could ever forget to sing a jolly Happy Birthday song the kid way? Everyone was so into the kiddie mood and gamely sang in chorus. The celebrants were interviewed to which each of them lied about their real age. Ha-ha, must we getting really old? There was quite a lot of amusing games that kept our energy elevated. First game was the popular Status dance which me and Pinky won and grabbed the activity book and toys. More equally cool games ensue namely the blue-bubblegum-green-apple-yellow-dalandan, the choo-choo train and guess-that-Jollibee-food- and- character. Peal of laughter fill the place.

You would never trade these party hats for the world, right?

Meet Vincent, Elaine and Bob – the happy celebrants/sponsor of this party in their best ever kiddie wardrobe

Give it up for Pinky and Aethan boasting their scrummy and tasty Jollibee fries and spaghetti.

Ang Bida ng saya, Jollibee striking a charming pose for everyone. Dare to fall in love with this crazy mascot! Ha-ha He’ll drive you crazy too with his engaging moves.

Here’s Hetty swooning over the birthday boy, Vincent. He got her head over heels. How kilig can that be?

The whole party people. Happiness written all over our faces.

Jollibee played around with Sheng with much gusto. They were a sight to behold. Ha-ha

Channeling the big picture.

Indeed, we really had our greatest time with the Jollibee crew and friends. It was fun “wasting time”! It was raining still. But who cares? Our spirits were still up with delight! My hugest thanks to Elaine, Bob and Vince for inviting us. How about you, have you awaken the kid in you?

Be financially savvy.

a single swipe today. then another swipe the day after. it's always been a happy feeling when you buy those fabulous shoes, clothes that are really to die for, those glossy magazines, books and everything! but when pay day comes, the happiness fades out. oh no, not that i am ungrateful. just that the big chunk of my pay goes to my ballooning debt. there's only a little that's left for my daily expenses. and the cycle goes on. it's endless. i badly need to put a stop to this cycle. i've always wished for a financial freedom.

with all these drawbacks in impulsive shopping, i read about this book by Robert Kiyosaki, Rich Dad, Poor Dad. My much-needed book to get out of the Rat Race. Let me share few things i jotted down while learning from this commendable book.

1.) "Children spend years in an antiquated educational system , studying subjects they will never use, preparing for the world that never exists."

There's too much to learn in school, from the early writing and reading ABCs to making long paragraphs. From counting simple 123 to wading through complicated algebraic expressions. Getting ourselves amazed with the wonders of Science and soaking ourselves with religion, values and God. Then we moved to College which makes our student life more serious as we learn the fundamentals of accounting or whatever course we are in. What we had in college, in some way or another, will ultimately shape and prepare us for the real world. But reality hits us. Real world is bolder and harsher. Financial freedom is never, or partly, taught. Often, people fail to handle things wisely. We we're not equipped with skills to survive.

2.) Always do the habit of saying, "How can I afford it?" rather than "I can't afford it."

Saying "How can I afford it?" means you are exercising your mind on looking for ways to be able afford little luxuries to big time investments. Ways are countless, we just have to know it and apply it.

3.) "Broke is temporary; poor is eternal."

I often wail "I'm broke!" to my friends and they wail back the same thing. Ha-ha But we all can bounce back so we can't be poor. Knowledge, wisdom and discipline are they key. It could be hard but we might consider making baby steps to be rich!

4.) "In life, it's not how much money you make, it's how much money you keep."

We can't spend everything all we have over those stuffs which do not generate income for us. Or we call it dead investments. It's nice to have those nice and huge houses, classy cars that will bring us anywhere, most advanced gadgets blah blah. But wouldn't it be cool if our assets now have extras to buy these?

5.) "Keep your expenses low, reduce your liabilities and diligently build a base of solid assets."

Needless to say, we should keep our expenses to the barest minimum. Or expenses should be after savings and investments. Splurging would be a no-no for starters and i believe it takes a lot to control. We should be making money working for us, not us working for money, as R. Kiyosaki stressed out repeatedly in the book.

There's a lot more in the book and I can't put them all down here. If you want to be financially savvy, then the book's for you! We can and we will be, all it takes is discipline and constant learning (uhm, about finance). Let's get rich!

A Bang for a Friend

2 days ago, one of my dearest friends, PINKY celebrated her nth birthday. ahem, i am not allowed to disclose her age (since it's just a number). with the onset of the 2rd week of the period, many of us are getting broke. so i haven't got any gift for this dear friend. so i decided to write a letter for her. here it goes...

Dear Bebang,

Happy Birthday to you! I have always thanked the Lord for giving me a superb friend. We may not have asked Him but He has placed beautiful souls in our lives to make His love more felt.

My Thank you’s and Kudos go out to you. For being a great sister to your barakos. For being a super proud Tita to Gabby. For being a dedicated employee (you deserve the Employee of the year award, haha). For being a faithful servant. For your yummy fruit cocktail cake. For being frugal (which I dream of becoming). For being an everybody’s friend. For your gentle and loving soul. For being a confidante. For relentlessly listening to my heartaches, fears and worries. For laughing at my corny jokes. For rejoicing at my triumphs. For crying with me. For your love to old songs and movies, haha. For bearing with us (kalsada? Haha). For your discipline especially in keeping yourself fit. For rocking a healthy body. For being so gay. For being true to yourself always. For the great advices. For being thoughtful and giving just-because gifts. For being assertive and articulate. For being a smart ass. For the good times. For the fun runs. For the cost savings (hehe). For being optimistic. For being a friend whom I can afford to be stupid with. For being an incredibly wonderful and beautiful person.

This page may not be even enough how much I appreciate you, not even enough to enumerate the goodness in you. Please stay who you are because we love you for who you are and who you are not.

May the Lord pour His blessings on you and grant whatever you heart wishes (a loving and God-fearing partner who will sweep you off your feet, hehe).

Cheers to more years!

Lots of Love,

Jang

In Love with coffee

If there’s someone who deserves an award for i-never-grow-sawa-of –coffee, that should be me. Or an award for most-number-of-coffee-drank in a day. Definitely, I would grab these awards and that would never be contestable. (Ha-ha) That’s how well I know myself when it comes to the coffee aspect of myself.

I strongly have an emotional attachment with coffee. And I drink coffee not just for the heck of drinking coffee but for some reasons, it brings me back to those precious memories.

Those tender years

When I was like 4 to 5 years old, my parents used to leave me (and my sister also) with our land lady. She became our grand mother-slash-guardian when our parents were at work. In those times, I learned to drink coffee. For some kids, they were never allowed to drink until they’re teenagers. But our ‘grandmother’ had given me the ‘benefit’ to be more advanced than any other kid. She fed me my breakfast with a hot, aromatic coffee along with the hot pandesal. And you know what happens to the pandesal. Ha-ha From this orientation, coffee has been a staple for breakfast.

My academic years

I was reared to be serious about my studies. It wasn’t imposed though, I strive to make my parents proud of me. So in those sunog-kilay years, my constant companion was a cup of hot coffee. College years had been accounted for the most number of cups of coffee I sipped. Just imagine the rigorous examinations, mock boards, of meeting the quota WPA, of not being in the bottom 5 during exam results. Those pressures seemed to be bearable (aside from the inspiration from the family and God, ahem) because of my ever dependable companion, my coffee. At an average, I consumed 5 to 7 cups a day ranging from yummiest flavours of Great Taste, Nescafe, Maxwell, Moreishi and from that of coffee shops. Of cappuccino, frothe’, instant, espresso, mocha java, choco hot fudge, frappe,herbal, 3n1, strong, mild, white, bitter, sweet, bitter-sweet, iced, hot, black. You name it, I have tried everything just to keep me awake and alive. Just it has played a major (I say major again) role in my college life.

Coffee will always be a part of me along with each of my life’s milestones. And I say, until to this very moment, I remain in love with coffee. Always will.

Each day is a big day. Take a sip. Coffee, anyone?

Cheers For Logan

It was almost the end of 2011, December 30 when I squeezed in a quick trip to Davao to meet Irving and his family. I arrived around 4 in the afternoon, managed to buy 2 pairs of shoes at SM and stuffed our empty stomachs with grilled chicken at Toryano’s. We passed by outside JS Gaisano and found this cute, black puppy inside a cage. Apparently, this dog has caught our attention with its tail that wiggles forever. A Labrador whom Irving loves to own all his life. Like true siguristas, we asked about the papers, the puppy’s parents and the vaccination history. Inquiries would never be enough as we cradle the puppy into our arms, played with it for a bit and off we went home. We’d like to get the dog but need to reconsider since buying a dog doesn’t come cheap. So off we went home and with us was the mobile number of the seller. While we were walking, we sort of gigil with the dog and 95% certain we’ll buy the dog. What was holding us back was who will take care of the dog? His parents cannot take the dog home in Parang, his sister can’t take it also on Manila because of schedule issue. So that leaves me and him. While he’s more of a dog lover than me, it would be best if the dog will be with me. So we both decided.

Wait. Didn’t I share I wasn’t a sucker for pets. I just started (trying) to touch dogs (in particular) because of Irving. He has influenced me on his love for dogs. True enough, dogs are lovable, cuddly and fun. But I wasn’t sure then about taking care of a Labrador. I really had apprehensions but I accepted the responsibility. All night we were thinking and rethinking the option of having a dog for real. The thought of having the dog for a much cheaper price compared with the mall prices nagged us all night. The very morning we were much resolved with buying the dog. With his sister in tow, the three of us happily bought the dog. At that moment, the dog was rightly ours and it deserves a name. And he will be called LOGAN (from Wolverine).

Fast Facts:

Name: Logan

Birthday: November 10, 2011

Breed: Labrador

Color: Black

Species: Canine

What could be more exhilarating to welcome a brand new year than welcoming a Lab into your house! Yes, Logan officially became the member of our family in January 1, 2012 and even joined our family reunion.

Here is Logan, 52 days old. Still looking cute and playing with his towel. Labs are known for their outgoing temperament and is very evident with Logan.

Feels really at home as he peacefully sleeps after the long trip from Davao. He heaves a loud sigh while sleeping. But that’s pretty normal for them!

What’s also adorable about Labs are their blue eyes. Yes, I said it right. All labs are born with blue eyes but later turn into brown when they become an adult.

Here’s the milk reward for Logan after getting soaked and cleaned up. I know dogs do not love to get wet but for the love of getting ‘em fresh, need to brace myself for the action-packed ‘ligo’ session. Ha-ha And I want to inculcate that he’ll have a reward after every taking a bath.

Seriously bad smell is a no-no for Logan. So an investment for pet cologne, shampoo , soap and powder won’t hurt. The owner is vain so will the pet. Ha-ha

Picture session while the Vet is attending to another dog. Logan never likes camera. He’s never a cam whore. Unlike me. This I need to train him. If possible, lol.

Logan is a heaven-sent gift. He’s captured our hearts and you can’t help but be attached with him. He’s got a lot to show off and his intelligence needs to be maximized. I am happy he’s with me, my number one stress reliever!

How about you? Have you have any pet? If none, adopt one! It’s fun!