Dude, share the road!

I've been biking since April of 2010.  And I do enjoy it thoroughly, specially if I biked through a hilly road and I get there in one piece! :D Can't avoid passing through major roads in our area, there are really no other roads to use. 

I find that most Filipino drivers - cars, trucks, buses, motorcycles - don't know how to treat bikers on the road.  After all these near-death experiences, I though I'd share a couple of tips to drivers when they see bikers.  You might be able to save life or limb, or both.

1.  Don't honk your horns before passing by a biker.  Most bikers are aware of their surroundings.  We know if there's a car behind us - we hear you even before we see you.  There's really no need to honk your horns, dude.  Seriously.  Horns are quite loud you know, we could loose our hearing.
2.  If you overtake a biker, please give him/her, at least 1.5 meters distance.  Hello, we are balancing on a two-wheel thing, if we get distracted, we could so easily loose our balance and heaven forbid, you might run over us!
3.  Make bikers cross first.  When you're in an intersection and the biker is going straight, you'll be turning, make the bikers cross first.  Again, we're balancing on a two-wheel thing, a little consideration for us.
4.  When you're in a narrow road with a biker, slow down, better yet, wait for your turn.  Would you miss a life altering event if you just slowed  down for a bit?  Don't overtake a biker in a narrow road and again, don't honk your horn!

The above tips are not difficult to follow.  These are all I have for now... if I think of more, I'll post it here again.

Again, DUDE, SHARE THE ROAD!

Not a millionaire

I never wanted to become a millionaire when I was a kid.  But I've always wanted a comfortable life, for me and for my loved ones.  A life where I could send my kid to the best school I can afford.  Take vacations when there's time for it, to see and experience the world.  To be able to afford celebrations when there's something to celebrate.  To have a comfortable house we all could fit in and call a home.  To have healthy food on the table.  To be able to work because we want to, not because we need to.  To quit a job because we don't enjoy it anymore, without worrying about how to pay the bills.

I never craved for wealth, as much as others I know do.  I wished though that money is easy to earn and always more than enough to pay bills and spend on retirement.  But sadly, there are days when it's just too difficult to get up, dress up and get to work.  When it's so much of a hassle to get on that tricycle, van or taxi to go to work.  When work load is overwhelmingly piling up.  And really, just hard. 

But then you do, you have to.  The minute you hear your son say "Good Morning", and you know that you want to give him the best of what you can give and send him to the best school you can afford.  The second you see your husband, who you want to grow old with and spend many happy, long vacations with.  You get up.  Because you love them. 

And so off we go to work.

Cabin fever

I haven't been out of the house for more than 30 mins since Wednesday.  Yesterday, I stayed put since it was raining non-stop.  Later in the afternoon, our gasul was empty.  I needed to got out, but opted to ask the yayas to use charcoal.  And it worked, we had hot food on the dinner table :)

This morning, I was contemplating about going to Makati but then saw the cloudy sky.  I ended up staying home and remembered it was Game 5!  I did do a 30-minute walk/run around the village, just to move a little.  And then worked, watched Game 5, cheered for both teams and then worked again.

But now, I absolutely must go out.  To get money to have our gasul delivered and buy milk too for my little one.  Perhaps get a Yellow Cab pizza as well.  Who knows. *grin*

I'm actually fine with this kind of life.  Work, play with my little one, call a friend, blog, watch tv - all inside the comforts of our home.  I don't get cabin fever much, as long as I have everything that I need within reach.  In fact, last Sunday, we went out to Festival Mall in Alabang, there were too many people!  I literrally got dizzy with all the moving, shoving and walking in the crowd.  Don't get me wrong, I love malls, but only when they're not full to the brim.  I don't like crowds much apparently.

So, now, I must go out.  The promise of pizza is the only thing that makes me want to go.  *grin*

Pambahay

A cousin posted this pic on Facebook.  It was taken when we were about 2-3 years old.  It was 4 of us cousins, 3 girls on the first row all in sandos and underwears.  It's how I always remembered us dressed at home, sandos and underwears - until I went into Grade 1. 

Taken probably in 1979 or 1980, in front of our grandparents house

Maligayang May

May was such a blur.  We went to so many events, went to a few nice places, didn't have a yaya for a week (another blog post is needed here), went swimming a lot and threw our first ever party at our new home :)

Oh and I spent a week in HK for work.. and stayed at my favorite hotel :)



We enjoyed milk and fruit shakes galore!



Summers should be spent swimming to your heart's content! :)



My plus 1 at a friend's wedding :D

Perfect explanation

Kids grow up so fast!  My little one is not so little anymore and he asks and says the most interesting things.


Enjoying a late afternoon swim

The other week, we celebrated his Dad's promotion (congrats D! so proud of you!).  While we were preparing for bed, my little one, K, asked me "Why don't you get promoted too Mom?".  Ouch anak! haha

And really made me think.  I was a go-getter pre-motherhood.  I went for a promotion like there was no tomorrow.  I worked crazy hours and almost lived at the office, just to get promoted.  Thankfully I got promoted a lot then... I even became an Operations Manager for 2+ years. 

But then 2 years after I gave birth, I chose non-manegerial post and basically stepped off the rat race.  My role now gives me more time with my son and hubby since I could work from home and don't have a team to look after.  I don't have to render a lot of overtime work now too, which is great since my health can't take less than 7 hours of sleep.  The thing is, there isn't a lot of growth in my role now.  But it's all good and I like it.  No, I LOVE it.  It's perfect for me, since I don't need to get promoted to know what I'm worth.  I get salary increases annually, and I get good bonuses too (it could be better though haha). 

How do I explain all this to my son though?

Yesterday, I worked from home.  While we were at our room, about to take an afternoon nap, he was smiling his lovely smile and suddenly hugged me so tightly.  I asked him why he was so happy, he said "Because you're here".  And that's the perfect explanation to why I don't run after a promotion.

Online Garage Sale

I've posted some stuff over Facebook, and I thought I'd offer it here too.  I'm trying to clean out my closet... on most days I can barely close it!  So help me unload stuff by buying some of my stuff. 

Let me know if you're interested by commenting on this post and we'll talk business :)

As with any online sale, shipping will be shouldered by the buyer. I can also meet-ups if you're around Makati or Laguna.

Oh and please share if you know someone might be interested.  Thanks!