How to Get Over Jetlag

Personally it really takes me time to get over jetlag. And it's much more difficult for me whenever I go home - I normally end up sleeping for 3 straight days. No kidding.

These are some of the things I've been trying to do and some stuff my colleagues have been forcing me to do:

1. Force yourself to sleep at night. (But I normally end up waking up in the wee hours of the morning and I could never go back to sleep!).

2. Drink coffee. Lots of it. (But I can't, I can just have 1 glass per day coz I normally end up getting a tummy ache).

3. Stay under the sun. My friends brought me to the flea market the other day and forced me to walk around under the sun. They said that it helps you get acclimated. Uh... still didn't work for me.

4. Another colleague said I shouldn't sleep any time within the day. Just wait for the evening. (I get a lot cranky when I'm really sleepy and couldn't sleep, so I was really cranky yesterday).

5. Load up on food. (But I don't want to get fat! But I'm too late! I'm too late!).

Oh well, I'm really baaaaaadddd with this and I guess I'll just be in and out of wakefulness the whole week. I can just imagine myself when I cross the timezone again.

Zzzzzzzzz...

Blogger Play

I know, I know it's 4 a.m. already and I'm still awake. I was, uh, cramming. Anyway, I was about to log-off when I got the heads up for the newest in Blogger.

Blogger Play basically shows you a glimpse of all the photos being upload in Blogger in real time. According to Eric, the feature started off as a photo-scroller that was displayed all over the Google offices. Believe me, I'd usually stand in front of these monitors transfixed and my colleagues would usually have to drag me away from it. Now I can look at them right at my desktop!

Well, I love looking at photos and when I checked Blogger Play right now I thought it was really cool seeing all the photos people are uploading - it's like zipping from one country to another, not as a tourist, but as a local.

Well, as Disney says, "It's a small world after all!"

Check it out!

Oh... if you're a Blogger user I highly recommend joining the Filipino Blogger Help Group and get tips about blogging in Blogger.

My Brain's Frying

That's a term my former colleague coined for me when I reported for work with a fever. He said, "Hala ka, umuwi ka na, your brain is frying." I'm nowhere close to being a medical expert so I don't really know if it's true if your brain's temperature goes up as well when you have a fever. My former colleague was probably pulling my leg. (Any doctors out there? Please explain.).

Anyway, so I've been sitting in front of my PC since early this morning, puttering around, working but not as productive as usual. I can never just lie down and rest coz I feel I'll just get more sick.

Well, since I couldn't work properly, neither could I blog properly, eat, sleep, chat, write in my diary, basically I really can't do much except... watch Youtube videos! Here's one from my best friend, it's short and funny, it's Jon Santos impersonating Armida Siguon Reyna -



Okay, so I'm being scolded already to get some rest. I'm going to bed... with my laptop. Mwehehehehe!

Makulay ang Buhay sa Sinabawang Gulay

Okay, I'm not really referring to that video. It's cute and funny, but a bit annoying, I'm sure the kids would've picked it up as well just like the LUK4 jingle (LOL). Anyway, my friend's have been teasing me about having a colorful life. Nah! I really couldn't understand why I always get myself in scrapes and whatever. But things always work out one way or the other and the best thing to do a lot of times is keep mum about it (le unbloggable hehe).

Well, on the brighter side of things, there's loads to do and a lot of stuff to look forward too (but I definitely do not want to get stranded again!). Yeah, I'm just rambling on...

Oh, my poll on "What to do when you are brokenhearted?" just closed and here are the results -

Get wasted again and again - 41%
Shop till you drop - 11%
Bury yourself in work - 58%
Find a replacement for the lost love - 17%
Cry and cry until the tears run dry - 35%

Well, it was just one of those silly things, it felt just really strange when I saw a lot of my traffic come from "love and relationship" keyword searches as well. Duh! Hahaha.

Well, here's HappySlip and her "Speechless" video, a follow-up to the "Boypren" video she did a few months back.



Uh, I'm speechless about a lot of things right now and my lips are sealed... a lot of times (hihihi). What about you?

Sunday Video: The SEO Song

Here's a hilarious video from the SEO World Champion Benj Arriola.



For all those interested to learn more about search engine optimization/marketing. Attend the 1st SEMCON on October 9 to 10 at the Grand Ballroom, Hotel Intercontinnental.

For more details, click on the ad below:

Filipina Since Birth

I've been trying to write this post for the past few weeks. I've been so utterly distracted, busy (that's usual), got stranded, and well had mini-birthday celebrations here and there, so that's why I haven't had the time to sit down and compose this post.

I have time and time again wrote about how proud I am to be a Filipino and have been very emphatic why I want to stay home. That's me being Pinoy, but it's a different story when you talk about being "Filipina".

I was talking with a colleague of mine and told him that there's an ongoing online campaign to change the "image of the Filipina". Why? Coz when you search for it all types of websites that brandish our image come up. I'm not even going to mention those anymore.

Now let me share with you what I think a Filipina is based on the feedback I've gotten from my friends in other countries.

1. Pinays are maalaga (Filipinas are good care-givers) - and I don't mean that as a "job". "Pinays are big trouble," my friend said, "I just cannot help it, I want to marry a Filipina because Pinays are the best." Yes, masarap magmahal ang Pinay and we stick it out through thick or thin.

2. Family first - there are a lot of successful Filipinas worldwide. Some known for their accomplishments and there are those who are making waves but haven't reached the news, but at the end of the day, Pinays know that family comes first.

3. We're funny - not funny-silly, but funny humorous. Well that's what my friends tell me. What more can I say? We're always happy.

4. Matiyaga and Resilient - we are not one to break down easily because we are supportive of each other. In the US (my friends tell me), neighbors don't come rushing about to help you when you are sick, but here you can easily get help from your neighbors. Haven't you noticed that psychiatrists aren't big here? Coz we all have our girl-friends.

5. Beautiful - my friends tell me that they want to stay in the Philippines forever because there are so many beautiful women here. The Filipina smile is known worldwide. I remember the flag carrier even used this as one of their advertising themes.

Filipina Since Birth. That's me and that's not going to change ever. I am happy where I am even though my life's been a roller coaster ride. I know I am meant to be where I am now and I think one important unique trait of Filipinas is the fact that we have faith in God and trust Him to know what is best for us. He is pillar behind our resilience, our humor, our beauty, courage and our huge heart.

The traits are wrote above are just a handful of beautiful things we can say about being a Filipina. What about you? What do you think are the best Filipina traits?

Thanks to Dhon Jason for the photo and Francis M Clothing Co. for the shirt (they've got more styles and also take orders for those in neighboring countries).

Stranded!

Here's a photo essay on what you can do while stranded in an airport terminal -

View Album

Get your own

A number of you might have read my crazy "Dear Charo" Twitter posts during the day. It went like this -

11:03 AM me: dear charo, ako'y sumusulat mula dito sa paliparan ng iloilo, gumising ako ng alas kwatro ng umaga upang di mahuli sa aking flightngunit datapwa't nang kami'y palipad na biglang umapak ang pilot sa brakes at kami ay paulit ulit na nag headbang

11:04 AM makakatulog na sana ako nun charo. sabi ng aking katabi pataas na kami nung biglang pilit ihinto ng piloto ang eroplano

natakot ako charo, isker! isker na isker!... to be continued... back to work muna.

2:34 PM me: dear charo, i'm still here in iloilo and trying to figure out the reason behind why i got stuck here for 10 hours now

2:35 PM naisantabi ko na ang takot ko sa nangyari kanina at handa na ako sumakay ulit ng eroplano, para lang makauwi!

me: ito nga po sa tingin ko tataba ako sa kakakain... kain kain to the max... sige kain muna ako ulit... brb

To make a long story short (yeah this is the translation), I got up at around 4:30 in the morning to be at the new Iloilo International Airport by 5:30 a.m. so I could catch the 6:45 a.m. flight. My flight was originally slated at 10:10 a.m., but I had to move it earlier because of some appointments. Yeah, yeah I always keep a crazy stream of activities every single day.

The plane was taking off already (I was almost in lala land by then) when the pilot hit on the brakes (thus the headbanging). It took a while before he mumbled something about "error in the cockpit" and then later on said, "erroneous reading". By then, I was wide awake and freaking out with my now new found friend Chat. Who wouldn't?

Anyway, the pilot said that it seemed that it was just an erroneous reading and announced that we just had to wait for the brakes to cool off so we could try taking off again. Ummm... erroneous reading??? So we tried taking off again, this time the plane glided along the runway slowly, but hit the brakes immediately at some point. Something was terribly wrong and the baby crying just pronounced that reality even more.

So, we had to get off the plane and wait at the terminal for more than an hour before any announcement was made. "We'll update in an hour." Another hour passed and then another hour and another... let's just say we finally managed to get back on the plane at 3:30 in the afternoon.

8 hours of delay equals three very important canceled meetings for me, lack of sleep, waiting for my nose to fall off because of the cold (they should've offered blankets or something!), and let's just say a lot of things got ruined as well within the day. But! At least:

(1) Nobody was hurt and the trouble came up before we managed to get up on the air;
(2) The airline fed us well;
(3) I managed to be productive (thanks to Globe Visibility); and
(4) I have a new found friend!

My Dad told me to ride another airline next time coz they have better maintenance. I was truly terrified on the ride back to Manila coz there was obviously still something really wrong with the aircraft (it was flying really low and slow!) and it didn't help that the stewards looked terrified themselves. I heard some really scary incidents about this airline (yes, crashes), but since it's very convenient to book online with them I've been using them more often than not in my trips. Hmmm, but then again lately they're becoming quite notorious in delayed flights as well. I don't even want to think about what could've happened if the "error" showed up mid-air. Pffft!

Thank God I got back in one piece.

Note to self: Do not watch "Air Crash Investigations" the night before taking a plane trip.