Back When I was an Office Girl

I honestly never planned to work in "tech". I just stumbled into it. I worked for a Telco, then helped my Mom in her business which forced me to learn how to make a website, make marketing materials, and figuring out how to use the world wide web for business. 

It eventually led me to work for a company that made websites/directories. I ended up as a product manager of the Philippine version of an import/export directory. It eventually led me to the yellow pages - the electronic version. 

The skills I developed through my career led me to work at the biggest search engine in the world (it still is!). Looking back though, what led me to work for tech companies was not because I planned it. I was led to those companies because of my quest to learn new skills.

I didn't know exactly what I wanted to do. I wanted to be in marketing but what fascinated me when I took my MBA was the different pathways you can take to become an expert marketer. At that time I didn't know what path to take, so I thought I'd do stuff to learn. My experience and skills led me to become a product manager (eventually program manager) and it allowed me to learn new things. 

If you're feeling lost in your career, perhaps learning new skills in your particular interest can be a way to grow :)

#BeKind #StaySafe

My Respiratory Therapist Made Me Cry

Last week during my respiratory therapy session, my OG respiratory therapist suddenly joined the session online (they reverted me back to online sessions to protect me from picking up germs at the hospital*). I didn't recognize him at first because he was on a hospital bed and he lost a lot of weight. 

He said he just wanted to say hi and told my current therapist to do well. My OG therapist always knew when to stop so I don't get overwhelmed and exhausted from the session. He also motivated me to continue since he knew I had only resumed my sessions recently. 

After he dropped off, the team told me he was supposed to get discharged, but was sent to ICU when his BP became unstable. I bit my lip from crying since my OG therapist could've just rested to get well, but he made the effort to say hello and motivate me to do well in my sessions. I guess he can't help, but be his generous self. Even in pain he thinks of others. 

Huge hugs for R*****. I pray you will get well soon.

*Plus COVID-19 cases have increased.

Made a Cat Coaster

I had a hard time making the Yoda-inspired coasters and to reset I wanted to make something easy. I took a look at a cat coaster I got from Daiso and thought it would be a perfect pattern. 

I found some of my Mom's scraps (they're probably older than Miggy!) and I used it for this experiment. It was fairly easy after I got the size of the squares right. Here's how it turned out -

And how I made it :)

Maybe I should make more in other colors?

#BeKind #StaySafe

Where Did the Demolition Debris Go?

During the first month of construction, the contractor ripped off all the cabinets, windows, ceiling and flooring. The outer walls were mostly still intact to keep the roof. Our architect explained that they will work on the foundation first and then remove the walls as needed.

There was a LOT of debris. The reusable items like the wooden flooring and walls were kept for future use. The chipped walls were set aside to be re-used as filling. Only the things that cannot be re-used like rotten wood, ripped linoleum flooring and tiles and broken glass were hauled out. 

I'm actually glad that parts of the original house will form part of our future house. The original foundation will also be kept to reinforce the new foundation. How'd that happen? We asked our architect to strictly follow the property line and easement requirements. That's what allowed them to move the new foundation and use the old one as reinforcement. 

My Mom told me that Tito Bert (the original architect) made the house earthquake proof. She said that the house moves as earthquakes happen. True enough, the original house barely had cracks in the 50+ years it was standing. I'm really glad we chose the right architect to work with because I don't have to worry about potential structural issues. 

#BeKind #StaySafe

Why Pinoys are Resilient

We've just experienced another super typhoon (Bavi with local name Inday). It brought strong winds and rain. I've never gotten used to it and I always wake up whenever the rain starts pounding on the roof. I'm also always creeped out when the wind howls. I keep reminding myself we're safe and we've taken precautions to prepare, but the worry never goes away when you've been through a lot of disasters.

And that made me think. They always say Filipinos are resilient. We are because you grow up needing to be prepared all the time. Here's what I grew up with:

• EDSA Revolution (x3), Coup d'etats
• Strong typhoons (Ondoy, Pepeng, Yolanda are just some, it's an annual thing)
• Flooding (queue memories of getting stuck in school and not being able to go home + walking in floodwater)
• Heavy forever traffic
• Increase in prices (gasoline/groceries/electricity)

We all just usually shrug it off as something that's common and an everyday thing. I was in Singapore when I realized it is a hard life we truly live. I was at an event and people were panicking because Orchard Road was flooded. I had to see it for myself so I stepped out of the hotel and saw it was just practically a puddle. An inch of clear water coursing through the street. The other attendees of the event were already saying they were stranded! 

The event has ended already, so I crossed the road to go to the MRT. My shoes didn't even get soaked! Ahh, for me, it wasn't a disaster. I would have probably waited for the water to subside if it reached gutter level, but it wasn't bothersome for me. Well, that's the sad thing. If we had things in place and if we weren't cheated by those who could make our lives easier, then our threshold for disaster would be much lower. 

I hope and pray everyone is safe and dry. There's going to be more rain for the next few days, so don't forget to bring your umbrella.

Have a blessed Sunday everyone. 

#BeKind #StaySafe

Bloomed After 4 Years

My friend, Ate Rose, gave me a bunch of cacti and succulents 4 years ago. She gave me some tips how to care for them and I watched videos how best to care for them. She told me to re-pot them, so that's what I did 4 years ago. 

There were two gymnocalycium saglionis originally and I think I gave one to my Mom a week after I re-potted them. The other one that was left with me grew and I didn't even bother re-potting it. I would just give it some fertilizer when I remembered it. 

Gave some to my Mom :)

A month ago, I gave all the plants in the pocket garden some rice water with orange peels and then let Miggy do the watering the cacti and succulents weekly. I checked the plants early this month and was surprised to see something coming out of the gymnocalycium saglionis. My friend from Cebu pointed out that it was a flower. 

Oh! I didn't know that this particular cacti can produce flowers. I ignored the cacti as usual (it doesn't like that much attention) and told Miggy the other day to check if it already bloomed. He sent a photo to me and it looked like it was about to bloom. 

I checked the next day and was surprised to see it had bloomed! It took 4 years! I guess randomly giving it some diluted fermented rice water with orange peels encouraged it to bloom. My friend also said to put it under bright light the whole day. It gets morning sun and afternoon sun, so I guess it's just on the right spot. 

I'm really happy about this achievement because TBH I failed a lot on cacti and succculents. I usually overwater them, but I've managed to correct that and here we are today, haha. 

How's your garden?

#BeKind #StaySafe

Our Bistek Tagalog Recipe

Bistek Tagalog is one of the dishes I learned early on. I prefer making dishes that are marinated first since it allows me to rest between preparing and cooking. I've also been just preparing and having Miggy cook lately since he likes cooking. 

Here's our recipe:

500 grams beef (I normally use sirloin)

1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper

2 cloves garlic

3 to 4 calamansi

2 Tbsp brown sugar

1/4 cup soy sauce

1 medium onion

And here's how we cook it -

It's very easy to make and that's why it's a staple in our home cooked meals!

#BeKind #StaySafe