The Elements of Style by Strunk and White: Grammar Basics

Up until now, I still find myself challenged with the English language--either by speaking or writing. Although I passed my Communication classes during college, I failed to fully absorb the intricate rules of the English grammar that I supposedly had learned. 

I am now in the process of revisiting and re-learning the English grammar. Strunk and White's Elements of Style has been very helpful. It is not as fun as how theoatmeal.com shares grammar rules but Strunk and White's handbook is easy to understand and follow. If you are having trouble in figuring out when to cut sentences, what preposition to use, when to use a comma, colon or semi colon, then this is the book for you.

Spamu: Spam Sushi

Spamu is the money-makers' gift for foodies who dig both Spam and Japanese food. I am one those people and I loved Spamu--the taste and experience, but not the price. At P45 each, I think Spamu is expensive. Although it satisfied my sushi craving and the Japanese rice used was at top quality, the slice of Spam was too thin! I ended up opening my own can of Spam to add more.

I'd rather buy a can of Spam at P99 than buy a piece of Spamu--which has an itsy bitsy slice of Spam and costs almost half the price of Spam. The Spamu I tasted, someone bought it for me at a designated kiosk along Eastwood’s old movie house section.  

I Survived EDSA: Alone, at Night, and on Foot

Friday, pay-day and rain—the perfect combination to make going home at night a living hell. It took me almost two hours—what usually takes me 15-20 minutes—to reach home.

Today was my first Friday at my new job—as digital marketing manager—for a company located in Emerald Ave, Ortigas. When I got out at 10:15PM, the street was already full of BPO company employees—including myself—trying to beat each other for the much-awaited taxi ride. It was hopeless—I am fair enough not to steal cabs from those who were there before me; and cab drivers chose this night to be snobs—four rudely turned me down giving me their "Ma'am pa-grahe na ako, eh." alibi. I decided to go to Robinsons Galleria in the hope of finding a systematic queue, but was also defeated. More than 30 people were lined up ahead of me and cabs arrived every 5-10 minutes. I just knew then that I had to walk if I wanted to reach home soon. And thankfully, I and my favourite Onitsuka Tiger sneakers were able to survive EDSA at night—11PM—and on foot.

Surviving EDSA on foot

It is hard enough to be in EDSA when you are inside a car; harder if you are on a bus; and hardest if you are plainly walking. What made it worst for me—I was just by myself. 

So if ever you'll ever find your way in the same predicament, here are my tips:

1. Be alert
2. Walk fast
3. Look fierce- try not to look scared even if you are. I was really scared but in my years of commuting, I learned that I had to turn on my fierce don't-mess-with-me face every time I am out in public. Before, I was the usual prey of the pick-pockets and lost five cellphones 
4. Be vigilant- watch out of for shady people—there are a lot; be sure to keep away from them; and choose to be grouped with the nice-looking ones—although in EDSA you can never be sure
5. Keep your belongings safe- put your bag in front of you and close to your body 
6. Be ready for unpleasant sites and smells- I saw a malnourished family of four with a mother, infant and two toddlers begging for whatever you can give—definitely not an easy site for me; and the smell—smelled like sewer water mixed with piss and feces 

JobStreet.com Improved my Life

Yesterday was my last day at JobStreet.com—my employer for five years—and when I woke up this morning, memories of my fun-filled sometimes toxic JobStreet days came rushing back to me. I felt sad and happy at the same time—sad because I left my friends; happy because I learned and improved a lot about myself. I learned that emails need to be answered or acknowledged within a few hours or if I don't have immediate access to internet due to a meeting or event, within a one-day lead time; I learned to juggle—in the corporate world this is popularly known as multitask—more than three major projects at a given time; I learned to coordinate and deal with government employees and different types of people no matter what their rank or status; and I learned that work is not work at all if you love what you are doing—this may sound like a hallmark card one-liner, but it is true. :)


I am very thankful and feel blessed for being part of the JobStreet.com family—a family composed of professional, smart, fair, and friendly individuals. And as I face a new challenge in my life, JobStreet.com—the number one job site in the Philippines—shall always have a special spot in my heart. 

JobStreet is known for its massively attended job fairs.
Every time I went to the events, my heart ached  for all the jobseekers eagerly wanting to get their dream job

The relaxing view from JobStreet's office

I always participated during team buildings- I was very competitive

In JobStreet.com, I found out that I can be larger than life

In JobStreet.com, I found a very good friend- Nica Danganan

I explored Bacolod with my JobStreet buddies

M Cafe: Chill Place in Makati

 

M Cafe at night

I met up with two of my best friends at M Cafe in Greenbelt 4, Makati a while ago. Inasmuch as I wanted to spend more time with them, I had to call it a night at 11PM since I have a nine o’clock meeting tomorrow. It is hard to meet up with my friends now—we have our own to-dos that we can't drop the way we do five years ago. During those days, we easily painted the town red even on a Monday.  

Doing things we love to do:
 Joel- drinking booze; Iza- lighting a cigarette; and I- posing for the camera

M Cafe was chill and I liked its steady vibe. Alcoholic drinks—cocktails—were expensive for me because I am usually at and prefer places with less than P100 a bottle of beer. I still got a cocktail drink—the retrospective shooter. I paid P350 and it was served in doubles. Each glass had bourbon whiskey, lychee juice, and piece of lychee. For as long as you are not there to get drunk—which I absolutely don’t recommend—one order is enough to last you two to three hours of steady chatting and sipping. 

Iza's Cosmopolitan

On way to M Cafe

A restaurant near M Cafe

Art Instillation at M Cafe

A street in Makati

Photos by Paulo Subido

Engagement, Proposal, and Ring

I am engaged! No ring had to be given or proposal to be done for me to have an engaged status—I am that easy. :)

I was engaged last year. Being engaged—in my book—starts at the moment when two people have chosen to be with each other for the rest of their lives and decided to marry some time in the future. And we—my boyfriend Paulo and I—started talking about getting married since 2011, because we love each other. I so love him that I want to spend the rest of my life with him—may be as his friend, wife or number one fan. Basta tabi kami lagi.

I never wanted an engagement ring from Paulo. Because one, it is pointless to spend for; two, it is unnecessary; and three, it is overrated. My only focus is on us and making our relationship work. I am practical like that.

Paulo asked his brother to take photos while he proposed.

I don’t want to be contradicting, but Paulo proposed recently. I was really surprised. We were at an outdoor concert and he was acting weird. I wanted to go home already but he insisted on waiting for his friend's turn to perform. Suddenly one of our favorite songs played. The next thing I knew, he was down on his knee and formally proposing. It happened so fast; but it was still sweet, beautiful and fun!

The proposal happened—this is what I tell my friends about the ring and proposal—because I am lucky to have an awesome fiance who wants me to have and experience everything in life including owning an engagement ring and being proposed to. Again—for emphasis—the proposal is not needed because the wedding will push through with or without the ring. But, hey, the ring is really beautiful. Magrereklamo pa ba ako. :)

It's an heirloom engagement ring- that makes it more special

Accredited Wedding Caterer: CVJ Food Catering

A way to cut wedding expenses is to opt for the accredited caterers of your chosen venue. Aside from offering a competitive cost per head, packages offered already include other wedding must-haves like the bridal car, cake and pair of doves, and is also flexible. In our case, we were able to include a 100-seat ceremony set-up for free, since we are not getting the bridal car, couple backdrop, torch entrance parade (no need for a grand entrance) and pair of doves. 

Last Sunday, we attended a food tasting in our venue—L'Orchard Garden—hosted by a known catering restaurant called CVJ Food Catering. Food tastes good—I loved the pasta alfredo and tinapa parcel—and the account manager was easy to talk to, so we decided to stick with them.   

CVJ Food Catering Tinapa Parcel is tasty and refreshing 

 

By choosing an accredited caterer of L'Orchard Garden, we were able to cross out additional five items in our to-do list: wedding ceremony set-up,  flower decorations, professional sound system capable for a acoustic band, garden lighting that looked wonderful in the photos, and three-layered fondant cake.