PatriciaSpot » Life and Stuff

Facing the Fear

pat — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 16:58:29 +0000

(This post is dedicated to people who have held back on decisions involving the things they really want)

Many of us (if not all) like talking about what we want to do with our lives. We talk about our dream jobs, the places we want to go to, hobbies we want to take up, etc. Some have that perennial urge to paint, dance, sing or act while some have ambitions of owning a business. The list goes on. There are a handful of people who have been able to decide to venture out and make their wants and dreams happen while many of us, at the end of the day, find that we never leave the point of dreaming. I do recognize that sometimes these aspirations that we loosely call “dreams” are merely whims. But what about those dreams which much more than mere fancy? Those dreams that deep down, we know really want but have been holding back on? What been stopping us?

Holding Back

I have been holding back on something I know I really want. When I discovered that the existence of this “thing”, I felt a jolt. Its something I’ve always hoped to find. (When I was in high school, I wondered what I could do in the future that could help me create a living. “Living” – earning well while creating real value for others.). I got excited and elated knowing that its possible and real. I started to envision making it happen. To take things a step further, I decided to take action. I wanted to measure up. Everything I felt needed to be learned, I tried studying. I’ve been trying my best since.

However as I went on, I found myself hesitating. Before I knew it, I unconsciously created one hundred and one reasons for me not to proceed… at least not yet. Some of the reasons are valid since there were things that were needed to be taken care of before I could freely give this dream a chance of materializing. Yet as the days passed, the reasons began turning into excuses. I’ve told myself “I’ll do it today” over and over. But its been months since I’ve actually moved forward.

Its absurd isn’t it. I know there are others out there who can relate. What stops a person from deciding to take the leap?

Fear.

Fear that it may not happen. Fear of failure. Fear of mistakes. Fear of many other intangible uncertainties. Should we let these fears stop us? The reality is, it has stopped many people when it shouldn’t (that includes me). Thanks to a recent wake up call and a random eureka moment, I’ve been able to finally painfully admit to myself that I’m actually afraid. It was at that point that the central reason for my reluctance became clear to me (its something very personal which I shall not discuss here). It was only after accepting the fear that I was able to see exactly what was happening to me.

In my search for finding ways to deal with this, I picked up a book which my grandfather has repeatedly asked me to read. Its one of his favorites – “How to Stop Worrying and Start Living” by Dale Carnegie. It is , practical, real, simple, straight to the point, brilliant…and it really helped me put things in perspective.

Dealing with Fear

According to Dale Carnegie, in dealing with worry and fear, there is a simple yet powerful formula that we can use.

1) Ask yourself, “What is the worst that can possibly happen?”

My version : In this situation, what is it that you are afraid of the most? What’s the worst that may come out of that thing you fear if it does happen?

2) Prepare to accept it if you have to.

My version: Accept it. Accept that yes, it could definitely be a possibility. Come to terms with this. Don’t fight it.

3) Then calmly proceed to improve on the worst

My version : So, if it happens, what are the possibilities beyond it? Or what about the good things that can happen despite this happening? It’s not the end of the world right?

Some fears are irrational while some are some fears are valid. Whatever the case, focusing on the fear will always hinder you from taking action towards your goal. (I guess thats what happened to me). Face the fear by acknowledge it, not nurturing it. I believe that what makes a man brave is not in being fearless (there is no such things as fearless anyway), but in being able to face the fear and overcome it. Overcome it by accepting it. There’s liberation in acceptance.

After you’ve recognized the worst case scenario, do the opposite and paint the ideal picture in your head – The picture of what you want, how you want it, and how good it can be and will be. It helps balance self- preparation with your hoped outcome. When I did this, I felt a calm which I haven’t felt in a long time. This is one process I’ll always remember and apply to my life

What doesn’t kill you only makes you stronger.

After this, the uncertainty doesn’t seem so daunting anymore.

I’m going for it.

My hope is that this post is found by people who, as I have, are experiencing uncertainty and fear about a certain decisions. May this brief post at least inspire them to seriously face their fears, get rid of worry, take action, and take the risk.

I ran last year and it felt good. I decided, heck, I’ll run some more.

pat — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 08:19:40 +0000

I think there is a new epidemic spreading among Metro Manila denizens… Running Fever.

I’ve got more and more friends and family getting into their running shoes and working those strides for all sorts of reasons : to lose weight, to maintain their weight, to build endurance, to start a healthy lifestyle etc. The bottom line is, they’re runnin’. Its gotten me running too.

I remember my first – the Ateneo Fun Run July last year. I got up at 5am to make sure I’m at starting line before 6am. When I arrived at Ateneo, I was pleasantly surprised to see a lot of people there – hardcore runners doing the 10km, the regular runners doing the 5-km, and fun-runners like me. The energy in the air perked me up.

For that run, I did 2.5 km with a combination of walking and running in between because I was simply out of shape. I ran with no prior training. No jogging..not even walking. I finished the 2.5 km with my legs aching and me gasping for breath. (My hardcore runner friends will probably be snickering at this). Despite that, I felt darn great. Was it the endorphins? Was it the morning air? What it the excitement coming from other runners? Whatever it was, I felt awesome.

I thought, maybe I SHOULD start doing this more seriously.

Fast-forward a couple of months later..

January. My colleagues Maki and Carlos have been excitedly talking about using GPS on their Blackberrys to monitor their runs. At that time, I sorely needed exercise. All the talk about marathons and GPS systems reminded me about that Ateneo run. I decided, “Ok, you know what? Let’s do this. At least one run.. even if i pick the shortest distance. Let’s get it started. The Century Tuna Superbods Run is coming up. Maybe I’ll join that. I’ll do 5km. And oh yah.. Derek Ramsy’s going to be running too. Ok, I gotta be there. Muhahaha”.

Since July, I’ve been jogging on and off. I didn’t really monitor my time nor did I care about my distance. I was after the exercise and feeling great after. But sometime around mid-January when my colleague Carlos began to seriously run and when Maki, a serious runner, joined our team in the office, I got inspired and decided to take it up another notch.

So began “Operation train myself”…

1) Run every weekend

2) Run at least once a week

3) Start sleeping early

4) Drink lots of water and eat a balanced diet (fresh fruits and veggies first!)

4) Monitor running time

5) Monitor distance.

The results so far? Pretty good I must say for someone who just started. In my last run did 2.5 km in 13 mins non-stop with energy to spare after. I think I can do 3km in 15 mins.

Its a simple start for my first real run… 3km. As mentioned, I originally wanted to do 5km. Unfortunately, I got sick earlier this week and wasn’t able to train. I know its nothing compared to the 21km run which I know some friends are planning to do. But hey, its a start. I’ve been following my simple program consistently since January..except for this week as I was sick. I’m fine now. Tomorrow morning, I run.

I feel great. I’ve lost weight and toned up a bit. On days that I run, my energy level is pretty good from morning to evening. The best part is, it really helps with work-related stress.

The Century Tuna Superbods is next weekend -

21 Feb 2010 at Bonifacio Globa City. Must I add, Derek Ramsy is running.

One week remains and I think thats more than enough. After this 3km run, I go the next level… I hear that it gets quite addicting.

Goodbye 2009 and My Thank You’s

pat — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 18:13:25 +0000

Its 2:00 am 4^th Jan 2010. In a few hours, the world will start beating its busy pulse. Its back to work and back to school. Yes, the festivities of Christmas and New Year are now over. It’s been a good two weeks. But before the wheels of 2010 start to turn and accelerate, I want to make my own personal adieu to 2009.

Goodbye 2009. It’s definitely been a crazy ride. I still can’t believe how much happened within the 12 months that have passed and also the changes and surprises that happened along the way. The odd events around me, travels, the changes in career, the new people whom I met along the way, the old dear friends outside the Philippines whom I got to see again, the farewells I had to make to people who decided to leave the country, the new things I’ve learned, getting the courage to little by little step out of my comfort zone, the humbling experiences, the realizations and shedding of old baggage.

There’s a lot to be thankful for and I truly am grateful.

Inspired by my colleague Carlos, I want to send out some love to all those who were part of my crazy 2009.

To my Malaysian friends (and Pinoy friends in Malaysia). Thanks for the warm welcome I always receive from you guys whenever I go there. It’s partly what makes Malaysia feel like my home away from my home. You guys are an awesome bunch. I hope to see more you of in the future. Congratulations to the those who wed last year and are now mommies/daddies and mommies/daddies-to be! Time flies doesn’t it. I still remembered how we partied back in 2006/2007.

To my three closest friends – Alex, Joan, April – there’s just so much to say. Even if we don’t see each other every day since Alex, you are in KL; April, you are in Vancouver; Joan, you are back studying and busy taking care of your juniors… it doesn’t change anything. We always seem to pick up we’re we left off. Its a rare thing.

To Ayka. Thanks for the nerd attacks, the random whatevers, and the rocking at out gigs while you were here. You finally got your SG dream which may not as dreamy you would’ve imaginel. But hey, the good things will roll in. Trust me. If you believe it will come, it will. I do miss hanging out but that’s all part of having to move away. Don’t worry woman, we’ll still see each there

To Nikki. Damn it girl. Why do you have to leave too? Who will be my clubbing buddy? Who will be my random chika session buddy? Your flight to Australia is around the corner. It’ll be a couple of years before our threesome (you, me, April) will be complete again. Those were good times. Nevertheless, I’m happy you were still able to come back here to the PH, albeit briefly.

To Katie. My cool, hot cousin who returned to NYC after a not so brief visit to the Philippines. Too bad we didn’t get to hang out that much while you were here. Blame it on work. At least we got to hang out a bit. Good luck in Polesque! (Did I spell that right?) Show ‘em your pole dancing prowess. I promise, when you come visit again, I won’t be so darn swamped with work. At least we got to hang out for a while.

To the friends from the college Polsci days. So we’re drinking wine together now? What happened to cheap alcohol and beer? I can’t help but be amused at this. I guess we’re all “growing up” now and getting more serious (really?) therefore our “preferences” are evolving. Haha! Right. Good luck to the graduating lawyers and politicians to be and congratulations to those who are doing well now! You guys are awesome.

To family. Oh wow. What to say to a big crazy bunch of people whom I call family? I love you guys.

To the Nuffies, my colleagues. So guys, it has been an interesting 2009 hasn’t it. It was far from perfect but it was great. Thanks guys. I’ve been learning a lot from each of you. My hope is that things get better for the whole team. Let’s kick ass this 2010!

To my former colleagues from Marcus Evans Philippines and Malaysia whom I got to see this year. I’ll never forget my Marcus Evans days.. ever. It was you guys that made the experience worthwhile. One can go insane working for Marcus Evans – the stress, the crazy demands from the big boss… Thankfully, I stayed sane because I had to you guys to make me laugh until cried. I hope we can manage to in touch.

To my other great great friends. Thanks for helping me out when I need help. Thanks for enduring the drama. The clubbing, the gigs, the hangouts, the travels and all the random whatever’s. Thanks for the stories, the laughs and teaching to become better every time.

(Special mention) To airports. I’ve stepped into you a lot this year. Every trip has been a milestone in my 2009. My Bali trip with the family last March, my trip to Malaysia to attend Zak’s wedding, going to Vigan when April visited the Philippines, going to Singapore for the Nuffnang Asia Pacific Blog Awards, and then going to back to Malaysia for some training (and seeing friends in Malaysia). What can I say, I’ve got a mole on my sole. There has been a lot of drama because of you. Its been good.

Oh.. and I just have to say, its not every year you have cars exploding a few meters away from you office!

So many more people to thank… if only I wasn’t sleepy…

2009 has passed for what its worth, it was a good year. I want to welcome 2010 with open arms, an eager mind, and an open heart.

On the eve of 2010, we had full Blue Moon which was right above us when the clock stroke 12mn. It’s a good sign and a good omen. 2010 is going to be awesome.

Lucky to be safe. Lucky to be alive

pat — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 06:55:36 +0000

This is lieu of the Serendra car explosion that happened the other day in front of Fullybooked.

To put it simply, I missed two explosions here in the city, twice. In these two instances, I could’ve been at the blast sight during the time of the explosion and could’ve gotten hurt. Or worse..killed. All because of simple decisions such as when to eat, I avoided being in the danger zone.

Lucky instance #1

The first one was the Glorietta 2, explosion back in 19 October 2007. I was in Makati with my friend April. About 15 mins before the blast, she asked if I wanted to go for lunch already. I remember looking outside and saying I was lazy because it just seemed too hot. But then after 5 mins, my hunger got the best of me therefore, I told April that, yah, we should go.

Our usual route : take a jeep along Makati avenue, get down at Landmark, walk a little and enter Glorietta 2. It normally took us about 15 mins to get there.

As we rode the jeep that day, the traffic was abnormally bad and there were sirens all over. There were police on their motorbikes and firetrucks rushing in the same direction – towards glorietta. Something was up. Amidst the mounting chaos, I received a call from my mom. “Where are you? A bomb exploded in Glorietta. You better stay clear of that area.”

My hair stood up. If it wasn’t for our laziness, April and I would’ve been at the area of the explosion site when it blew up.

Lucky instance #2

Some of you have heard about the car explosion in Serendra just the other day (15 Dec 2009). For those of you who don’t know, you can check my previous post about it.

I work on High Street which is right beside Serendra. For lunch, my colleagues and I usually walk from our office to Market Market, passing by area where the explosion happened. On the day of the explosion, I would’ve been walking along that area if not for a proposal that I had to finishing.

About 12nn, I was thinking of finishing the proposal after lunch but decided against it. Whilst typing away, we at the office heard that thunder-like boom and wondered what it was. When we looked outside the window, we saw guards rushing towards Fullybooked. My colleagues and I went down and discovered that a car had exploded.

Though the blast was not strong enough to kill anyone more than 5 meters away, there may have been shrapnel or other little pieces of whatnot that may have injured the bystanders. Have I gone out for lunch earlier, I would’ve found myself in that area. I may have potentially gotten hurt.

Bottom line

These stories aren’t really dramatic. Yet, the possibility of my presence at the explosion sites during those events makes me think… “damn I’m lucky”. Who would’ve known small decisions such as “I want to eat now” or “I’ll eat later” can change things. This does not apply just to those two incidents but rather, to things in general.

How many instances in our lives did we avoid danger by just making one little decision? Unless the avoidance of harm was as obvious as my experience, we’ll never know. Maybe because you decided to make one turn too early, you avoided a lurking stranger with malicious intentions. Maybe this and maybe that.

The bottom line is, if you are safe and alive… thats something to be thankful for.

Learning How to Write again

pat — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 00:41:40 +0000

I feel like a cripple who’s learning how to walk again after her cast has been removed. And seriously, I know how it feels like.I have broken my foot in the past and I have gone through the process of learning how to walk again. Its knowing how to do something which was supposedly second nature to you (and something you love) but you just can’t at that moment because the very thing that allows you to do that action is the very thing that’s preventing you from doing it. I know very well how to walk (step, step, step) but it was very difficult because my leg was atrophied. I needed time to build the muscle so I could do something I loved once more – walking.

Its the same with writing. Its been a while since I’ve written something which is for others to read (aside from my last blog posts. Those were warm ups). I don’t know how good I am but I’ve always loved writing. I keep a notebook with me where ever I go to write down or draw the most random things. But for that’s as far as it has been ever since I graduated from college. Its as if my mind has atrophied from years of not being able to churn out compositions, papers, forced creative writing (which I did enjoy despite it being forced and graded).

I’ve been craving to create something and this is the easiest and best way I know. (Next would be dancing but that’s another story for a another time.. and that another muscle I’ll need to rebuild)

So here I am -
Overcoming that fear of “what if no one reads me”.
Reactivating an atrophied mind and building muscle.
Learning to write again.

…I remember when I finally got to walk again. I was really happy. I never took my foot, nor walking, for granted again.

Birthday Week (Day 2) : Death by Stress and Birthday Greetings

pat — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 13:04:00 +0000

That’s exactly what day two was about – death by birthday greeting and work stress. In a matter of hours, the semi-festive mood I was in on my birthday disspated when faced with the reality that one:

1) Birthday aren’t what they used to be. Its blow the candle, celebrate a little, and then back to work folks. (Wow, do I sound jaded or what). After the cake and the laughter, I go back to my desk and realize all the stuff I have to do then I wonder, what the heck am I doing here. Deal to close, emails to answer… and thus resumes the daily grind.

I’d celebrate this year but I gotta save up for a crazy October.

2) I have a ton of greetings to reply to.

Thanks to the convenience of texting, facebook, twitter and plurk, sending someone a greeting has never been easier, faster, convenient, and more impersonal than ever. Thus, due to the convenience, you get a flood, and i mean a flood of greetings. Some ARE sincere from people who really do care, some genuinely do want to greet even if you are not really close friends, while the others… i get the sense that facebook birthday alert makes them feel obligated to ‘greet’ because facebook now does all the remembering for you!

With about 80 FB greetings, it would be insane to reply to each one so, since we are in the age of convenience, I did what everyone does, a mass thank you.

It would be nice to reply to each one but that’s just not practical with all the things that are needed to be done..

(But then, you gotta admit, it does kinda nice to see the number of people who do take the trouble of going to your profile and typing “happy birthday” on your wall)

So there it they are, some of them well-wishers. Now I gotta clear my phone inbox and my email…..

Birthday Week (Day 1) : The Office Birthday Surprise

pat — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 13:34:00 +0000

So after lunch, I began getting busy working on my desk when Mikey calls me over to the pantry,”Judd wants to talk to you”. I’m like, “What does he need? Weird” So I walk over and then Judd jumps out of the pantry to keep me from going in. Apparently, Mikey called me in a bit prematurely. Whoops too late, i saw what they were doing inside. They prepared a little birthday surprise for me. lol. The mastermind? Carlos.

I go inside anyway and they were lighting the cake. (Surprise fail!) They brought out 25 “no die” candles, stuck ‘em in the cake, and tried to light them. It took them a while to get them all lit and by the time they were done lighting the candles, some of them were half burnt. Then they turn to me told me to BLOW THE CANDLES. Apparently, it WAS for me after all.

So there i was trying to blow 25 candles that just wouldn’t die (ever heard of them magic candles). The more I blew, the thicker the smoke become. It got quite…. bad actually. Any thicker and the sprinklers would’ve gone off. Now THAT would’ve been hilarious.

Check the video:

Birthday cake blow fail!“What the hell. Bat ganyan!? Parang everlasting candles?”“fire fire! Pshhhh”” Parang inihaw na cake” “the smoke the smoke. Oh god the smoke.”“eeww, cancerous” “Epic FAIL!”

There I am, trying to blow candles and trying hard not laugh. I have no idea why my movements were all prissy. I wish I dressed up a bit this morning! I look like a total dork the video. I need a make over… baaad. I didn’t really care to look good today.

After that candle-blowing episode, we had to scrape off the icing on top as it was covered with ashes. What can expect after 25 candles..

(photo by: Carlos Palma)

It was really quite funny. Hilarious moment I tell you. Smoke Alarms, candles that won’t die, Miss Tec (the Admin head) getting upset, ashes in the cake….

I want to thank the Nuffnang peeps (Judd, Carlos, Anne) and the Molve peeps (Mikey and peeps for the little surprise. That was really sweet of you guys.

WordCamp 2009 and My Lovely Bowl of Pho

pat — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 08:40:00 +0000

(Pictures from Carlos a.k.a Existential Walker and Judd) Thanks guys. I will use my own pictures once I get my own camera. ‘Til then, I’ll have to contend with my crappy P&S cam, and leeching.

WordCamp 2009

Last Saturday, I attended my first WordCamp seminar.WordCamp is a conference/seminar focused on WordPress. It was co-presented by Mozilla and hosted by the Mindanao Bloggers Group at AIM, Makati. It was ….. interesting. First thing’s first. Sorry blogger but it seems that I may want to migrate to wordpress (oh no, bots crawling my system now. Don’t suspend my account!). That’s as much as I can say since the rest of the info was basically technical. No matter how much I tried to focus and understand, it all seemed like a blur to me. *bleary eyed* I’ll probably just ask Judd and Carlos to help me out. lol. I know, I know. I should at least have a surface understanding of it all since I work in the internet industry for crying out loud.

That’s me smiling in a supposedly candid picture. Beside me are Judd and Marcelle who’s happily plurking on my netbook since his laptop won’t pick up the wifi signal

My favorite parts were the segments on vlogging and bloggers’ roles in the coming National Philippine Elections 2010. That’ll be a whole separate post but I really liked the points of the speaker. For those who think bloggers are just a bunch of lazy bums with nothing to do with their lives, you are starkly wrong. There is much the blogsphere can do. It gives a voice to regular people like you and me. It can be a really powerful tool.

As for vlogging (video blogs), its still at its infancy stage. Think Happy Slip and Moymoy Palaboy . Right now, most of the vlogs I’ve encountered are just about random crazy stuff that people come up with. “Productive Boredom” is what I’d call it. I’m just real curious as to how its going to evolve. Definitely, someone will come up with a socio-political vlog. That I’m very excited to see. I’d make one if I could but I just don’t have the time and resources.

What would I vlog about if I had time to vlog?

1) I’d vlog about different positive things that are happening around the metro – like GK, or concerts for a cause, organic Philippine-made products (or Philippine made products in general),some cool youth initiatives like Ako Mismo. I think the Ako Mismo people and the Juan Tama people should come up with vlogs.

2) I’d vlog about being a frustrated fashionista and a fashion disaster on the road of transformation and conversion because she’s seen “the light”. haha!

Anyway…

I think the best part of it all was meeting new people (I always like meeting people) – the Mozilla people, the Mindanao Bloggers, Jehz Lau, and the other bloggers (you know who you are). There are so many cool ideas out there. Hope to see ‘em all emerge into reality.

The speakers

My Lovely Pho

I’ve been craving for Pho since Friday night. After WordCamp, the Nuffies were nice enough to agree and eat at Pho Hoa.

(My Pho is actually the one in the background. Carlos’ is the on in the foreground. Oh well, I’m just leaching pictures anyway. He takes really cool pictures doesn’t he? Check out his food food blog Foodie MAnila )

Pho is my ultimate comfort and happy food. I like it with LOTS of chopped chilli and the red hot sauce you see in the picture. Extra Spicy is the way to go baby

This morning’s insights

pat — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 01:25:00 +0000

What I’ll write here are just little thought tidbits that flowed in this morning. Nothing profound or philosophical. Just little thoughts that I would want to more or less immortalize (or as long as the blogspot servers stay intact, hehe).

Its a Tuesday morning. And since it was a long weekend, its the first day of the week.
Me and my over active mind…

Grandpa, sales and Yoga.

When my grand parents’ driver, Benjo, is available, I ask him to drive me to work. Today is one of those days that I’m lucky he’s available. The sky is dark grey and its been raining the past few days. It would’ve been a real bitch to take public transportation… and trust me, from my place, taking public transport on a rainy is quite difficult.

Well, when the car arrived, I jumped in so I may be off to work. When I got in, my grandpa was inside as he was going to the bank. The trip was basically simple chit chat about work and what’s been going on with me. Being the sweet person that my grandpa is, he started giving advice on things he feels would help me. He’s always like that… always trying to help. Most of the time, its unsolicited and occasionally condescending (after all, I’m more street smart than he thinks I am) but I’m touched the fact that he’s always made it a point to try to impart some knowledge that he feels will help me.

Today it was about Sales and Yoga. Regarding sales, let’s just say I gained a trainer without me knowing I had one. haha! But its all good as his advice was very practical and true.

As for yoga, he insists thate despite the fact that no longer take Bikram yoga classes, I should continue the exercises. Come to think of it…. I should.

I’m lucky. Not eveyrone gets to meet his/her grandpa. Moreover, not everyone has one as caring as mine.

Opportunity rewards people who step outside their comfort zone

Now from my older brother from a different mother, Trent Ham. No, we’ve never met. Its just, I love reading his blog and the comments people leave after his posts. There’s always something new to learn, some insightful. If its not new, its something that I need reminding on.

Today, is about stepping out of my comfort zone. Its pretty timely as there is something that has been bugging me. Its been playing at the back of head the past two days. It involves at lot of what-if’s, a lot of “is-it-worth-it’s”, and a lot of “should-I-risk-it’s”. Yes, one moment, I’m confident about my decision, then next… I wonder if its worth going for. Well, I guess I got the answer this morning.

This is a situation very close to my heart and sometimes has the ability to impair my logical trail of thought. So, I’m trying to be as objective as I can with it.. whatever the case, I think I know the answer to my question….

Once more, I’m confident in my decision (I hope the person/s invovled are confident in it too). Yes, once the necessary things are in place, I’m stepping out of my comfort zone. And when I mean stepping out of my comfort zone, this means a lot of things. Is it worth it? I hope so. Am I strong enough to deal with the consequcnes that it may bring? I’ll have to be. What the hell, we live but one life.

Simple pleasures – vanity and nerdiness

pat — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 16:28:00 +0000

I’ll cut myself some slack and admit, ok I have my vain moments (haha don’t we all?). And because I don’t really take the time to pamper myself, it a big deal for me to actually go to the salon and have someone fuss over me. And that’s what I did today – I got a hair trim, a manicure, pedicure. Its been a while. I forgot how good it feels to just sit there while someone cleans your nails and snips your hair.

For the girls, don’t you love how your hair is perfect when you step out of the salon? Just the right amoung of volume, body, and shine. Thats thanks to the blow-drying along with the hair sirum. Because I love how my hair looks at the moment, I’m posting it. I took a picture because I know once the blow dried effect fades, its waves, curls, and frizz galore again (unless I go get myself some Kerastase. But its just so expensive). I’m not going to shampoo tonight . Hopefully its still pretty tomorrow.

As for my little petite feet (feel free to scrutinize and criticize), I told myuself, oh what the heck. I’ll get a manicure. Its a desrved treat for my abused feet. They deserve some TLC and sass. After all, I walk around, I work hard and I’ll be kicking ass. Might as well do it with some class.

Nerdy pleasures

Its all because of Nuffnang. Everyday, we are heavily exposed to the internet along with the latest of updates in technology and software. I used to not have any patience for dealing with software applications. Simple “how-to’s” stressed me out and exploring the potential of a practicular online or software tool wasn’t exactly a hobby of mine. Now, I get giddy, yes, giddy, over things like the Flock browser, Google reader.. and my latest love – Google calendar which I synchronize with Mozilla Sunbird! (Is this me?!)

I used to be pro paper planners. Now my pretty red trusty Moleskin planner is about to become obsolete. I found something awesome – Google Calendar. I love how the lay out makes it easy to plan out events and tasks. Google has really poured brains in this one. It has so many cool features : world clock, weather report, calendar sharing, calendar alarm, etc. Organized properly, its like having a part time-assistant . Now if only I can sync my tasks with my Mozilla Sunbird, my life will be complete. Oh, and I get to save trees.

As for flock, call me a floc-aholic. If you have not yet heard about Flock, its the web browser designed to make your online life easier. Its ALMOST your one-stop-shop for all your social network needs.

Here’s a little vid on Flock for you: Flock!

Not everyone is crazy about it. Then again, different strokes for different folks. If you are like me: follows blogs, subscribes to RSS feeds for news here and there, facebooks a lot, uploads pictures a lot, needs to be constantly updated on the status of your email inbox, etc…. give it a try. It may not be as fast as Chrome but it definitely owns when it comes to organizing your online life.

I’m quite surprised at how I’m awed by all this. Its amazing how people come up with these ideas and how they execute such. They are on a different level. On my end, I’ll just stick on online marketing and advertising. haha!

I have not come to that point where I can be considered a techno freak. In the techno-nerd scale of 1-10, 10 being the highest, I’m probably level 2 or 3? I have a long way to go. I’m not yet there but I may well be on my way.

Blogged with the Flock Browser