The X Factor

It wasn't planned but I went anyway. Last night the company I work with, Eperformax, had its Christmas Party in Rockwell Tent (beside Powerplant Mall). It started at 3PM but since I haven't had sleep, I grabbed a short beauty snooze and arrived at about 6:30PM, just in time to watch one of my friends/officemates (also named Karen) perform in the singing contest. That was the main reason why I agreed to go.



diva/idol Karenine and plain Karen


I was nervous like a stage mother before she got up there and screamed my lungs out like a fan when she performed. She's really great and although she got 5th place, we're still proud of her. I just wished there were more of us there who would have added to the text votes. Good for the other accounts since all of them have their weekends off while in our account, only a handful have weekends off. Oh well.



hanging around the Christmas tree


The theme was funky formal and of course, I wore my necktie again although this time I wore jeans and sneakers and a pair of specs. My color was literally black and blue. Haha! We ate (yummy Bizu!) and mingled around. It was really nice hanging out with people and friends without thinking about the stresses from work. It was fun though I missed a few people. I realized a lot of people are really fashionable and very talented when I watched the awarding ceremony (for people who have contributed a lot to the company when it comes to passion for work and tenure), the Epmax Idol singing contest and the group competition (our account, Verizon, won second place). The crowd thinned out and since I felt sleepy, we headed for home at about 12 midnight. At that time, Kala (their vocalist is also an agent working in the company although he's from Experian) was in the middle of their performance.


I was happy. I don't know if it was because of the chocolates or maybe because I realized there were more people in the company than those I just see everyday. Hahaha! There were definitely more cute guys out there though I know more than half of them are gay. Oh well. Such is life. Click here for more pictures.

Christmas Wish

My wish list:

cellphone (preferably Nokia 6233 or Nokia N73)

laptop (any kind)

digital cam (any Canon IXUS or Powershot)

books (new releases by Paulo Coelho, Neil Gaiman, Nicholas Sparks, Eoin Colfer, Mitch Albom; Post Secret 2)

Converse Chuck Taylor shoes (black-purple or red-navy blue foldable high-cut combination)

bag for work and play

leather shoes for work

my own house and lot



If I were to choose just one wish Santa could give me, it would be the last one. Undoubtedly, it is the most expensive and most difficult to achieve.


I was 6 or 7 when my family was forced to sell our house and since then, we moved from one place to another and survived by paying apartment rentals. Through the years, I forgot how secure it feels to live in one's own home. Recently, our neighbors who live just 2 doors away from us were given a month's notice to move out. It's not that they aren't paying the rent. The reason given was that the landlord wanted his niece from the States to stay in that apartment. It's nearly Christmas and now our neighbors don't know where they'll go. I mean, just imagine if all the landlord's relatives from the States came here and we were all forced to leave! I can't bear the thought of that. But I also realized that yes, one's own home can be taken away with a snap of powerful fingers.


So, if I can be less selfish for a moment, my Christmas wish is to let everyone have a comfortable, secure and cozy shelter-- a place one can call home.


P.S.
If Santa can't give me my last wish, the others will do. Hahaha! :)

December Stress

The Christmas rush usually stresses people out. Now that it's only a few weeks before Christmas, some people may be itching to spend their well-earned bonus to buy gifts and food and/or go on a vacation. I don't blame them. I know Christmas should be a time for family and for simple pleasures but a fast-paced life in the city often results in lesser time for oneself and for quality rest and relaxation.





I have signs of stress for the past couple of months. I haven't consulted a doctor but had signs like missed periods, falling hair, impulsive buying and eating. When a friend asked me why I think I'm stressed I has difficulty pinpointing the real reason why. I said maybe because I think too much. She asked me what things I think about and I realized it's the little things-- family, my inability to save money for myself, my so-called love life, missing my sister, gaining weight, work-- all these little things piled up can really affect me. She suggested I listen to mellow music. I am doing that now while typing this. I hope I can afford getting a whole body massage session too. I think I need that as well, so I can just sit back and breathe.


My sister left for Ternate, Cavite early this morning for their immersion, one of the requirements to finish her Nursing course, and she'll be staying there for the next 3 weeks. I'm glad she'll be home before Christmas and New Year but will go back there again on the first week of January to spend probably another month there. It's sad. I haven't caught up on sleep since she left at 4 AM today. I'll be missing her despite the fact that I'm gonna have the bed and the room to myself (Haha!). It's like losing a part of me and we all have to adjust having no "noisy one" in the house. So, I decided to file for a 4-day leave after Christmas (and hope it will be approved). I just want to give some time for myself and for people who matter the most to me.


Any other suggestions on how to battle stress? Feel free to comment. :)

Sinful Escape

It's not as sinful as one might think, but since I desperately wanted to convince myself to start going on a diet, I committed a "crime" against myself. After shift and hanging out with 3 my friends, I found myself alone and killing time in the mall. I got hungry after a few hours and I "discovered" Penny Brown. I ordered a Smacker! Imagine about 2 hefty scoops of ice cream sandwiched between 2 freshly-baked cookies! Not only that, you can choose your own ice cream flavor and choose your fave cookies. I got a white choco loco (coz I love white chocolate) and a Penny Brown classic (coz I don't wanna miss that) and sandwiched between is a caramel/pastillas ice cream (coz cappucino was not available then). Yumyum! I called it "Karen's Sinful Escape". That's my Penny Brown moment.





Diabetic? No worries! Just add a few pesos and you can choose sugar-free ice cream and sugar-free cookies so everyone can enjoy this treat! I know my father would love that. Look for the stand on the 3rd floor, Glorietta 4 Food Choices. :)


After that I found myself watching "Borat". I miss watching movies alone and the movie was so funny! I recommend watching it with a group of friends. Although I didn't care laughing out loud despite being alone (especially when I saw *that* scene and I thought, now I know why that's the movie title and it's NOT because of the lead character's name. Hahaha! Evil me.) Oh well, I broke my promise of not being a glutton anymore but it was worth it. I think I deserved that treat. Now, I need an activity to sweat everything out, but the holiday season is not exactly the best time to go on a diet with all the food around, right?

Goldfingers

I can't believe it's already December! The typhoon is not as scary as everyone expected it to be. It's actually a cool and breezy day outside. So, let's start this month with a very interesting quiz from dadaprofae and geewitch. Hehe!