More Plarking!

I continued to play and work today (hence, "plark" as mentioned in previous post).

I keep discovering new word games and they are all fun!

I got to chat with a top executive of an ad agency and told him, one of my frustrations is to be a copywriter. I don't want to waste my writing skills and "corniness"! Ha ha. He advised me to moonlight with ad agencies. I was waiting for him to say that his agency would try me out, but he didn't. Oh well, someday...

So, I decided that I will do creative exercises in the meantime. I just want to expand my horizons, and make full use of my brain (but not to the extent of being drained, of course).

I also got to chat with a female pastor, my nephew (who is also my godson), and a popular director. I just love FB!

Last night, I watched "Knight and Day" and enjoyed it thoroughly. What would you expect from a movie starring Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz? Full of action, some humor, and a bit of romance. My kind of movie.

Mom wanted tartar sauce with her fish fillet but didn't know how. Solution is simple! I searched the net and watched a YouTube video on "how to make tartar sauce". When I visited another site, it was practically the same recipe plus 3 other versions.

Want to know how to make tartar sauce? Ingredients are one cup mayonnaise, 2 tablespoons of lemon juice (calamansi would do I guess), 1 tablespoon pickle relish, 1 tablespoon finely chopped red onion, then season with salt and pepper. Put in ref for one hour before use.

I think it's high time I really learn how to cook. I will start with simple recipes. But I'm crossing my fingers, hoping this isn't going to be another "ningas kugon" (the closest translation I can think of is "touch and go").

My sister and niece visited. They brought me some tempura. Yehey! I have something for dinner already.

Mom went out this morning till early afternoon so she left me with P100 for lunch. I ordered beef kaldereta, rice and Coke Zero. Great!

My mom's masahista (masseuse) came today and massaged her from head to foot (not necessarily in that order). So, I need not massage my mom's feet today.

I texted my new friend saying "thank you" for the visit, the cake, and for paying the notary fee. I told him to feel free to drop by again when he is in the vicinity. He said, yes, he plans to visit again. Nice!

I Plarked Today

You might be wondering what "Plarked" means. Well, I just coined the term by combining "played" and "worked".

I kept playing various word games online. I discovered a new game, "Scrabble Sprint" at pogo.com. It's fun!

I think I shall continue exploring various games to challenge my mind.

And I worked while listening to songs in YouTube.

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Mom attended a party - a house blessing in Cavite. There were three lechons but of course, she was embarrased to bring home some. But she was bold enough to go to the kitchen and ask for a plate of lechon with her choice parts and the crunchy skin.

I just ate chicharon and tapsilog.

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Everyday, I learn something new. I just love computers! I love the Internet! There is so much I can enjoy and find out. And to think that my son says I am poor in technology. Ha ha.

Yesterday and Today

Yesterday, I was busy formulating two questionnaires based on drafts prepared by client. I offered to be present in the next meeting to discuss the project.

Yesterday, mom went to the hospital to undergo a citiscan...Today, she got the results but we could not understand the findings. At least, we did not see the scary words "tumor" or "cancer". The word "cyst" though was there. I plan to google all the terms.

Today, I continued lifting excerpts from "Beyond Disruption". I also played Book Worm and listened to YouTube. I discovered a super talented young guitarist by the name of Sungha Jung. He's great!

Yesterday, my friend discussed a possible quantitative and qualitative study. Today, she said that both projects were approved. Yey.

Here is the blogsite you might find funny: (http://www.dslservice-providers.com/blog/blog/2011/10-corny-jokes-about-really-fast-things.html).

God is great!

New

Yesterday, a former "neighbor" visited me at our condo. Mom was curious, too, so she joined in our conversation.

He was thoughtful enough to bring cake. Delicious! Mom ate two slices right away.

We went down for a while to have something notarized. It's great to know that there is a notary public within our building.

We talked about many things...former neighbors, common friends, etc. (It seemed that he knew a lot of people!). It really is a small world. Glad to have a new friend.

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My client-friend was supposed to drop by today because we have a newly approved project. We were supposed to revise the questionnaire. I had a lot of questions so I did not start doing it yet. She said she will come tomorrow morning. She reset her meeting with the end client at 1 pm.

Glad to have a new project.

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I am still lifting excerpts from "Beyond Disruption". But instead of just a word file, I want to come up with a Powerpoint version. Hope client would agree to it.

The other book,"The Art of War" by Sun Tzu, is still being read by my son. It is a classic and I consider it a privilege for me to get to read it.
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So what else is new?

I started reading another book for leisure, entitled "Sins of Omission". Mom enjoyed reading it so I decided to start reading it, too.

Mom went to a rheumatologist to complain about her aches and pains. She was asked to undergo Citiscan. I hope it is not anything serious.

I ate spicy adobong pusit from Cafe Denim. It was good enough, I finished everything.

My friend is celebrating her birthday soon. She asked if I can join her and her brother because the latter is treating us out. I think I am well enough to go out. Yey.

Life is good, knowing it is in God's hands.

Food Is Good

I love food! Does that make me a "foodie"?

Yesterday, my sister and niece dropped by for dinner. They brought pancit palabok from Little Quiapo, grilled liempo from Grill Queen, puto from Nathaniels. They also brought softdrinks. I enjoyed the liempo especially, I almost finished it.

Today, after our Monday visit to the hospital, mom treated me to Sushi-ya. As usual, we ordered Bento box consisting of ebi tempura (3 pieces), hagedashi tofu, California Maki, rice, and miso soup. I had pineapple juice, mom chose iced tea.

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I have finished reading "Beyond Disruption" by Jean-Marie Dru. I continued taking exerpts from it. Very interesting book!

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I discovered another word game, this time from Yahoo. It's called "Bookworm". It entails forming words, the longer the better and you must use the colored letters before they hit bottom. Exciting!

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I really believe in exercising the mind. While waiting in the hospital, I solved Sudoku puzzles. Fun!

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I am inviting friends to another Bibliarasal session. Even if there's only one participant other than me, that would be good enough.

Yahoo 7

I just loooove the "new" Yahoo 7 mail. It's very user-friendly and the various themes are so beautiful, I keep changing it each day.

A guy who met me 35 years ago emailed and mentioned facts like where I live, our neighbor's name, my brother was with ROTC, etc. We got to talk over the phone and he is coming over next week. Nice to have a new friend (as if I haven't a lot of friends already!). Well, one more won't do any harm.

My chatmate and I got into an argument yesterday about "religion". We didn't see eye to eye on a number of things. Until I just said something like "I don't agree with you but I still love you"...I had to clarify that I love him as a friend (he is married he he).

I opened my gmail inbox after months of not doing so. I was pleasantly surprised when someone said that she read my 2nd book ("Things I Learned Before I Was Born"). She enjoyed it. What do you know, a fan! Makes me want to write another book.

The keynote speech I posted in writersdigest got noticed. Two people commented saying "great message" and "yes, excellent message". Gave me a nice feeling.

Other folks have been reading this blog without my knowing it and they have emailed to me. Thanks!

My friend came over this afternoon. I had my first Bibliyarasal (Bible, study, and prayer). There were just the two of us. I invited 7 other people but all declined. My fault because I waited till the last minute to contact them (only yesterday and today). I will conduct the next one this coming Saturday and invite participants well in advance.

My friend brought fruits (papaya and pineapple). How kind of her!

Mom went to Greenhills and joined my aunt and uncle. They bought Christmas gifts (necklaces) for their two daughters. They ate at a Chinese restaurant and mom brought home the leftover food. She also bought monggo siopao, chicharon, and fresh lumpia. Yey and yummy!

A client-friend informed me that one of our projects is sure to be approved. Great!

Thank You, Lord!

Keynote Address

I subscribe to WritersDigest. Every week or so, they have what is called a "writing prompt". The latest one goes:

You received a call from your alma mater and they want you to be the keynote speaker at graduation. Write a speech that inspires the future generation to work toward their dreams. Post your response (500 words or fewer) in the comments here:
Writing Prompt: Your Keynote Speech




I was in a writing mood so I came up with the following:

Good day to you all!

It is a great privilege to be invited today as your keynote speaker. It is also an awesome responsibility.

I do not wish to bore you so I promise to make this speech brief but big on advice.

So, what words of wisdom do I impart to you, dear graduates?

Well, let that word be our acronym for easy recall – WISDOM!

W stands for work hard, play hard. Most who are fresh from college swear to sweat it out early in their career. That’s good! But don’t forget to play, party and put your foot up to rest. You must avoid burning out before your fire is extinguished.

I means I shall do my best without being a perfectionist. Strive for excellence, not perfection. Otherwise, you might end up in a mental institution. I should know. Been there, done that.

S is share yourself to the world. It needs your skills, talents, drive, ideas, and yes, your presence. Just being around should be seen as your gift to all that you meet – at work, in social circles, and most especially, to your family.

D of course means dream on. This place would not have seen much progress were it not for dreamers, dreamers like you and me. Reach for whatever that dream is, so long as it is not detrimental to others or harmful to yourself.

O – open yourself to opportunities that come your way. Better still, actively seek those doors of opportunities and don’t just stand there! Boldly open them! For opportunities are not for the weak of heart but for the strong of will.

M is for “mantra”. If you haven’t one already, I suggest you adopt mine. My personal mantra all these years is “Everyday in every way, I am getting better and better!” Yes, the desire to improve on a daily basis starts with the mind. Let this thought be ingrained in your brain not only because it rhymes, but also because it works!

So there you are, W – work hard, play hard. I – I shall do my best without being a perfectionist. S – share yourself to the world. D – dream on. O – open yourself to opportunities. M – mantra, “Everyday in every way, I am getting better and better”.

Let me end with a story.

Once upon a time, there was a young, beautiful, talented and intelligent woman who graduated from this very university. Because she finished with honors, magna cum laude, she was able to work for the best and biggest companies in the country. But like everybody, she experienced trials and tribulations – a failed marriage and illnesses such as diabetes, osteoporosis, bi-polar mood disorder, and lately, multiple myeloma or cancer of the bone marrow. Hence, she has been in and out of hospitals. Armed with the very words I shared with you today, she has survived and continues to survive.

Ladies and gentlemen, you are looking at that survivor.

Welcome to the world! Thank you!

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What do you think? [Reminds me, a niece told us that one of her dreams is to deliver the keynote speech to graduating students. I may never be invited to be such a speaker but I can pretend and write about it, can't I?]

Romantic Comedies vs. Chick Flicks

I recently watched "27 Dresses", "The Ugly Truth" and "50 First Dates". I call all three romantic comedies (my favorite genre!). But some of my male friends call them "Yuk! Chick flicks!". They wouldn't be caught watching one [as if they would be less of a man! ha ha].

Well, as for me, I just love those so called chick flicks because I am a "chick" who happens to be an incurable romantic as well. I love to laugh and I enjoy vicariously experiencing romance by merely watching a film with a happy ending for two people in love.

Sad news. My doctor is charging us P1,000 a week retroactive to the time we started getting Velcade for free. We can no longer afford to buy Recormon for twice a week. Lord, please provide!

My friend is not coming today to pick up her payment for a project. She said tomorrow, she will pass by.

I have started reading "Beyond Disruption". Hmm, quite interesting. But I have yet to find out tomorrow evening what exactly is my assignment.

Massaging my mom's feet is a daily task for me. I really don't mind. I am able to pray the rosary while doing it.

I am raring to do more work so more money can come in. I claim an avalanche of projects! Thank You so much, Lord!

Small Blessings Ain't Small

Since my last blog, "small" blessings came my way -

...I continued playing word whomp and started listing words I was not able to get (hence, broadening my vocabulary...but I have to look them up in the dictionary he he)

...My sister called up and we talked for several minutes - about my niece's wake, her new job, her trip to the US, etc. (I have only one sister and it's great to get to talk with her once in a while. She is busy with her job and she has four children and a husband, you see.)

...My aunt fetched my mom. She brought seven new books. Yey.

...Mom attended a cousin's despedida (who will be going back to the US). The food was lechon, paella and braised beef. I got to eat the lechon...hmm, super yummy! The paella wasn't bad either.

...I had time to re-watch "The Accidental Husband" on DVD. I just love romantic comedies! It's a good thing the DVD was a clear copy.

...A friend, a sister in community, passed by. She tried to convince me to take food supplements but I'm not too keen on them. She got our lawyer-friend's contact number because she owes her some money. We scheduled a Biblirasal (Bibliya, aral, dasal) session on Saturday. She prayed for me and my family before leaving. I gave her a yellow green shirt because that is her favorite color.

...We were able to go to the hospital again but it took a while before mom was able to find a wheelchair. I ate chicharon and salad. I solved several sudoku puzzles while waiting. We didn't have a hard time getting a cab to and from the hospital.

...My friend texted me to say that she had just finished interviewing my friend and she was a good respondent. (I'm always glad to be of help, no matter how small the favor.)

...For three days now, I have been massaging my mom's feet while saying the rosary. I put lotion so that I could massage more easily.

...I was also able to wash the dishes a few times. (I haven't done this for a long time. Means I am really on my way to recovery.)

...For all these and more, thank You, Lord!

Everyday in Every Way...

I used to have a daily mantra which goes, "Every day in every way, I am getting better and better." It is now more true today than before. I can feel myself becoming better - health-wise, socially, intellectually, emotionally, spiritually, and so on. And I have the Lord to thank! (Praise You, Lord!)

It makes me sad to hear the news that so and so has died. One such person is my niece (daughter of my deaf and mute cousin). She had cancer, stage 4. My brother and sister are going to the wake today. I wish I could come.

I do enjoy playing word whomp at pogo. com. I have been playing for hours these past days! But when I recognized that it was getting to be too much, I willed myself to do something else.

Embarrassing to say, I poohed again on my underwear yesterday and today. It's one of the side effects of my medicine - diarrhea. Oh well, as my doctors says, it's the lesser of evils.

I've been listening to YouTube and I just love the song, "I Will Follow Him" from Sister Act. (Wish I could see the movie.) Also, I often listen to Fatima Soriano sing "Mahiwaga" - the theme song from "100 Days to Heaven". [The blind girl was the same one who sang my song, "Mama Let Me Live. And just to remind you, it's on YouTube entitled "Nimia Gamo song only".]

Mom got mad yesterday at me for agreeing to get a check under my name but part of it goes to other people. I don't have a bank account except a checking account. So she was furious that she would have to go through so much trouble just to get the money. She talked to the agency's staff and yelled at her. Poor girl! And so I thought of a solution. I asked my son to pick up the check last Thursday and on Friday he had it encashed (he couldn't do both on the same day because he will go on overbreak). So, problem solved.

Today, mom was able to pay her credit card bill.

I'm expecting more payment within the month. Hope all months were like this.

Yesterday, mom bought pancit palabok from Little Quiapo plus chicharon and suman. Yummy!

Today, she bought fresh lumpia from Goldilocks, plus other food (shrimp and fried fish). I was able to eat the lumpia without puking.

A client-friend is asking me to read two interesting books. But I have to get instructions first from her before I start reading.

God is good! (all the time!)

Mind Games

With reports done, I take my time engaging in "mind games" - specifically, sudoku, scrabble and word whomp (which I recently discovered in pogo.com). It's fun and addicting!It entails forming as many words as you can given six letters.

I can now walk although still not that fast. I no longer use my swivel chair as my "wheelchair". Clearly, I'm on the way to recovery!

Yesterday, there was a presentation of the three reports I made. Client said "The content was very good. Good job on the presentation material. We missed you today...Everyone was looking for you." Well, it's good to know that all that effort has not gone to waste. Yey.

Another Client said that my FGD report was "very good, ang bilis din (and fast, too)". Another yey.

I just looooove my work as analyst. I have other projects coming soon. Thank You, Lord!

Now, I think I will watch a DVD.

Life is good!

Ahhh! Done!

Whew! I am done with the three reports I was tasked to do on the same project. The presentation will push through on Wednesday but I won't be around physically. Yesterday, we (the two people who will be presenting and I) had a dry run. I gave tips on how to present the data/report. There will be 7 top executives who will be attending. (That's much fewer than the 30 who attended one of my presentations!)

I also edited two reports of a research agency. The analysis was good but grammar and choice of words needed improvement/correction.

Yesterday was hospital day. I woke up late so we left the house at about past 9. Good thing we found a lone wheelchair. Thank God! (My mom and I always pray that a wheelchair be made available for me.)

I drank avocado shake (without milk) and ate chicharon (with taba/fat) for morning merienda. While waiting, I solved Sudoku puzzles and prayed the rosary. We didn't wait long for a cab to get home.

I took a bite of the siopao mom bought for my lunch but again, I felt like throwing up (I had just been given my medicine which causes vomitting and diarrhea). So I just ate crackers for lunch.

When my visitors (the presentors) arrived, we went through the dry run. We ordered food from downstairs - turon, ginataang mais and pancit.

It feels so good to have accomplished so much! Now, I have time to watch DVDs to reward myself.

Busy, Busy as a Bee

Boy, have I been busy these past few days.

I finished a long FGD report - complete with pictures and diagrams, and verbatims (both oral and written). I've sent a copy to the facilitator for her inputs.

That's one down.

Then, a project came in today. Quite easy. Just some Internet search and I made inquiries over the phone. I also came up with a one-pager for the Client. It is for a parish church which is celebrating its fiesta soon.

Worst of all, a client asked for three separate reports based on a single study. The person in charge of data processing sent me only a few data tables. I am far, far from finishing at least one of the three reports. BIG problem!

The only good news is that the dry run tomorrow was cancelled. The presentation will push through next Wednesday but I won't be the one to do it. I will "train" another person and we will have our dry run this Monday (afternoon, since I will be in the hospital for about half a day).

Yes, buzz...I am busy as a bee. I was able to write in this blog only because I am still waiting for more data to come in.

Oh well, the night is long and looks like I will work till beyond midnight.

Wonderful Days Are These

Yesterday (Sunday), a friend (who is a pastor) visited me. She and her companion, prayed over me particularly for my healing. We were able to talk about the olds days [we were officemates before] and how she changed. She said that I was the prettiest in the company. Ha ha.

Too bad they forgot to bring the cake they were supposed to give me. It's okay. Calories and sugar...not good for my health.

I was able to continue working on my FGD report yesterday and today. I'm about halfway through. Yey.

Last night, I watched a beautiful, inspiring movie, entitled "Extraordinary Measures" - starring Brendan Fraser and Harrison Ford. It's about a man who has 2 kids sick with a rare disease and a professor struggling to turn his "cure" from theory to reality. What makes it even more interesting is that the movie is based on a true story.

Today, we went early to the hospital so there were several wheelchairs available. After my blood test, we went to the canteen. I ate a plain donut, melon shake and kropek. Then we found the right path towards the new chemo room. We waited long so I was able to pray the rosary and solve several Sudoku puzzles.

Both my doctors were pleased with my lab results. The only thing was I have UTI for which antibiotics were prescribed. I will continue to receive Velcade for free and buy Recormon weekly.

We were home before 5 pm, the rush hour.

I immediately went to work.

LBM is part of the side effects of Velcade. No wonder I have been suffering from diarrhea these past weeks. Oh well, it's among the lesser of evils.