The seven people you meet on the street

This is my own version of my favorite book "the seven people you meet in heaven" and this just happened last week.

The guard
I met him a couple of times before whenever i had the chance to be in McDo El Pueblo and he does'nt fail to bring a smile to my face everytime i had an encounter with him. He is the most and I mean this with all my heart, the most friendly and accommodating guard i have ever met. :) While walking towards the fastfood resto, a few meters away, i already saw him waving at me and my husband and i gave the "was he waving at us?" look. and yes, he was waving at us and greeting us with "good afternoon, dito na kayo kumain." we will really go there as i was scheduled to meet someone but you know the feeling that he gives you, the very charming way of greeting you and inviting you for lunch. While entering the fastfood, i glanced upon him talking to another customer who was satisfied with his service. i don't know, his aura was really contagious. :) He even asked for my parking ticket and volunteered to have it validated. I remember the time when i had a dress up there, he was very accommodating helping me with my stuff and showing me the room where we can set-up the decors. He was genuinely nice. And it's comforting to know that yes, there are still people like him.

The teller
I'd always go to the same banks i'm used to primarily because it's convenient. Maila is one of the tellers that I became acquainted with. And it took us a while before we really got to know each other by name and those small conversations while waiting for the print out of my deposit slips turned into longer talks. :) I like that she is fascinated with my daughter. She does'nt give me special treatment at the bank, i always line up but i'd always hope that she'd be the one to queu me. :)

The homeless
I know i've written about this guy before here in my blog and seeing him again on the street brought some memories. From the moment i learned how to drive, i managed to pass by the same route from my then office to home. as in the same route, and side of the road etc. And at one intersection in ortigas, i always see him. He begs for food or money. What sets him apart from the other who would ask was that he walks using his bare hands. He has polio. He can only walk using his two hands and right food and he would literally crawl to my window asking for whatever i can give him. I used to buy a pack of bread for him and give everything just so he has food and i would consciously pass by his "territory" the same time i always see him just so i could give whatever amount i can. When i resigned, i never saw him again. I changed routes. But one day, i saw him again and he was still asking for money, he was still crawling to the window but he grew up. After a man gave him money, I saw him walking towards the side street and he sat and lit his cigarette. And beside him was a plastic of rugby. My initial reaction was anger. I thought that many people try to help him so he might as well help himself. But come to think of it, i could'nt judge him. Nobody can. And then there was guilt. I thought that i could have helped more but was'nt able to.

The mother
I meet a lot and I mean a lot of moms. I meet them everyday of my life. I schedule meetings with them for the kid's parties, i share with them the struggles we all go through as moms and i laugh with every comic stories they share with me. The other day I met her. She's preparing for her daughter's birthday in october. what sets her apart was her daughter is a test tube baby. yes, i thought i'd only know about it in the net but the daughter that she was carrying was a product of 10 years of waiting, lots and lots of needles and treatments, financial struggles and emotional battle. She was teary eyed talking about her and i was more teary eyed listening to her story. I though i felt her pain, her joy, her doubts, her fears. And she reminded me of the bliss when i gave birth to simone. She reminded me that i'm blessed that we did'nt have to go through that but i'm inspired by her that she embraced everything with a leap of faith. She and her husband is a couple who has gone through a lot. And she was honest enough to admit that she fears of having another baby. Aside from having to go through everything, she fears more that she won't be able to give the same love as she has for her daughter now. and i quote her saying, "eto na yung lahat-lahat ng love ko e, baka wala nako mabigay sa susunod and it's unfair". Honestly, i can totally relate to what she said. But of course, there will always be enough love for our children. I'm sure God is willing to provide all of those for us. :)


The boss
I was just two months of a fresh graduate when i had my first formal job and it's the only job i learned to love before i resigned to venture in something that i love more. I was introduced to him while he was cleaning his desk and from then on, i always called him "tito ocs". He was one of my bosses. He taught me how to be organized (but im not sure if i learned right), he taught me to be objective all the time, never mind what people say as long as you do your job. He taught me that it's always nice to be early, if not on time. And most of all, he taught me that bosses, as bossy as they seem, have soft hearts as fathers. I would always remember him talking about his children and how proud he is of them. I knew I'm one of the few people he can share his fatherly stories with and i'm so glad he did. He would always tell me that i'm like his daughter and at times, he would ask if he made the right decision when it comes to disciplining his kids. he's needs a little loosening of the belt, hehe. beneath the strict and serious father image, his face emits this pure joy when he talks about them and i will always treasure those small talks over coffee. Thank you tito ocs and your passing was a big shock. I thought i should have seen you again but you know that you will always be my tito ocs. :)

To be continued...

The one with house blessing

Actually, it's more of Neyo's 2nd month birthday and Chell's birthday too. We visited them in their house for the first time and we had so much fun. I could not believe that my brother in law has a Starbucks signage at home. He had one done, as in exactly the same. Moreso, they also prepared real starbucks coffee for us, caramel macchiato please. and mind you, in starbucks coffee mugs and tissues. hahaha, and i thought i'm the only starbucks addict in the family. :) When i first entered, i immediately smelled the aroma of the coffee and shouted, "wow, starbucks!" hahaha...of course, i know my addiction well :)

I also love their home. It's so cozy and pieces are very well chosen. Brought me back to the time when Simon and I were living in our small apartment and we'd have all the time to arrange our house furnitures and be able to display small pieces for the houses. Now, we just can't. Since we have a growing toddler, everything had to be packed, everything that might break. So all of us were telling them that once neyo learns to walk, hahaha, the good old days of having those displays and furnitures will be missed. ;)

Of course, we took pictures. We love pictures! and in my attempt to become a photographer, here are some of my shots:

i absolutely love this shot! obviouse ba it's the first to be posted. hahaha. i feel like a pro! bwahaha.

love chell's emotions here. nothing beats a candid shot. parang gusto sabihin ni neyo, "iniipit nyo ko e."

caught neyo's serious look. hehe. he looks like his daddy here! he's such a charmer. gwapito! and he's not a cry baby!

this, i love too! i did'nt know babies are hard to shoot. as in, i wanted to have so many pictures but i never realized i'd only like some coz they're so mobile that a little move will make the pic blurry.

it's very seldom that you see all the Tan siblings together. And i have this subconscious way of always documenting it.

Don't you just love how he stare???

Chell and Neyo

Mommy and baby shot. I initially attempted to do the same concept for Chris and Neyo but Neyo kept on moving. hahaha. when i saw this, I immediately took a shot. would have been better if neyo's hands are open but yeah, it's still nice! you gotta love your own :)

don't you just love seeing parents staring at their babies like these two pics???

of course, the two achies of the family. nice noh???

neyo's shoes!

these next two shots made me realized that i think im better taking non-life subjects. hahaha.

I wanted to post some of our pictures here but i'm just too fat right now. hahaha. i know, best diet pills won't work for me right now. what can i do, i looove to eat!

The one with all grown up

It's been a while since I wrote something about Simone. I missed blogging (err, bragging) about her milestones that i discover everyday.

She's all grown up. Yes, I really don't want to admit this but she really is. Hey, im not overacting but I can't believe that she's not a baby anymore. This realization started when i heard her asked her ate maru, "ate, what you doin'?" She has started to make conversations as if she can understand what we needed to say or how to explain things. but as they say, never underestimate kids. That's why we always talk to her like when you talk to an adult.

She does'nt drink Wilkins anymore. The only water that survived her thru her infant years is not a necessity anymore. And while I was pouring water from our own water dispenser to her bottle, i realized that yeah she does'nt need those water filters anymore. Suddenly I felt that she does'nt need too much clean water, she can take a little dirt sometimes coz she is growing up. Suddenly, it's like a metaphor. She does'nt need to be in her crib all the time, she can fall and bruise her knee or bump her head sometimes, you think she needs it so she'll grow strong and brave.

She has her own seat on our dining set. Recently, we bought a new dining set to replace the two-seater round table that we used to have. Though it took us a while before we were able to buy a family dining set, i personally think that the timing can never be more perfect. It was the time that Simone has learned to really eat all by herself, sit more comfortably on her own chair. She sits beside mommy and daddy takes the "breadwinner" seat. :)

She wants to wear her clothes by herself. She still needs to be guided but if she'd have a choice, she'd want to do it by herself. She chooses what she'd like to wear too. She has become more sure of what she wants and just like mommy, she wants the nicest things ;)

Love you simone. :)

The one with still on the hunt

We are still on our house hunting and it's just so hard to find the home for you. And it makes it harder that we are on a tight budget. One option actually is to not "rush" things and just save and save until we find what we're looking for. The other side is we've set a timeline for ourselved that before we enroll simone in a school, we need to have a house that we own. That way, expenses don't pile up in front of us, sort of taking it one at a time. We've also looked at foreclosed properties but we still prefer the brand new ones. We've considered townhouses but out hearts are set with a detached home with a backyard and a provision for expansion. We've also tried pre-selling options but the one that we wanted does'nt have a working permit yet, making it harder to start paying for it since there might still be problems with permits and construction. The money that we will invest with that will be the only money alloted for the house so we really need to spend wisely.

I hope the house hunt comes to end soon. :) All in perfect time :)

The one with marathon

My eyes are strained right now. I marathoned the latest season of Desperate Housewives. I slept at 530am in the morning and just tried hard to stop watching. hahaha. I stopped at the episode where Edie dies and they had to bring the urn to her son. Watching the episode made me realized that yes, friends are really important and that no matter how different we are from our friends, it's a relief that we are surrounded with people who stick with us no matter what. I laughed at the scene where the old lady (forgot the name) had to change the tire since no motorhome towing was around when they had a flat tire. none of them knew how to change a tire. made me realized that i myself does'nt know how to. my brother taught me but it just slipped knowing that i registered our car in a towing company. hahaha.

Hopefully I'd be able to continue my marathon, if my eyes stop from twitching. ;)

The one with trials

I feel for my friend. Her parents are of old age already. They're going through a very tough time right now. Her dad is suffering from lung cancer, part from which mesothelioma can also be related. Her mom has some nerve dysfunctioning and the worst part is that her mom does'nt know about her dad's condition. they chose to keep it a secret since she knows that her mom won't take it easily. Who won't be? It's just so hard to see people being sick, moreso if they are your loved ones. I can't even have the guts to talk to her as I can't find the right words to say and I honestly

I will always pray for this family. That they will continue to see God's goodness and grace amidst this trial. God bless you.

The one with the ark

As part of my birthday celebration, we had a pre-birthday family day out. Simon thought that since simone is fond of animals, he wanted to show what real and live animals look like, not just the ones that simone points out in books or boards. hehe.

We went straight to Ark Avilon Zoo in Tiendesitas Ortigas since it's the one nearest from our place. I also thought that this is different from the zoo that we used to go to when we were kids, yung talagang outdoor zoo which is a good start for simone. hehe.

~ Simone liked the sheep. the minute she heard the sheep went "Meeehhh...", she started looking for the sheep by replying with "Meeehhh..." ang cute!

~ She was super afraid with the orangutan though. as in! the one with pink crocs, ewan ko ba. hehe.

~ She had fun feeding the guinea pigs. she was not scared at all. actually, she also fed the sheep. hehe.

~ She spent ample time sa playground too which we did'nt want sana coz if that'd be the case, we should have stayed in an aircon playgound diba? haha. although, i was able to rest a bit while she was playing in the sand

~ It was hot but not too hot. :)

~ While looking at the pictures, I really can't help but think that I'm sooo fat. hahaha. I know this is so out of context but no new diet pills can make me slim. I eat a lot din e. hay. i love to eat!

The one with birthday pics

~ We wore our new mommy and daughter matching outfits. bought it at Purple candy. really nice. I asked mom in law to make tons of this design. hehe.

~ It was Neyo's first time at Starbucks. grabe, 1month old baby spending the evening at starbucks! cool!

~ Simone and Justin had fun in starbucks. I notice that Simone loves to go there. as in feeling nya playground nya. I guess it's the smell of coffee that makes her hyper. haha.

~ Grannies had a time to catch up. I'm glad we had coffee pa after dinner kasi dun yung kwentuhan talaga. And my dad in law even told me that he had a very good night sleep that night. nakapag unwind kasi. :)

~ Oliver and Jane were stuck in traffic but they managed to eat double time to get the most out of the buffet

~ Simon and Ate Maru were kind enough to let me eat three plates! hahaha. i really stuffed myself. di nila pina-alaga sa ken si simone so each of them were only able to finish one serving lang. ahehe. thanks beh!

The one with wishlist given

If you remember in my previous post, I wrote down a short wishlist of what i wanted for my birthday, and i'm so happy two of those were given to me. The NikonD40 is such a thrill to use. I'm not so much of a gadgety person but I need a more decent camera to help me take better pictures of our decors. And i'm just glad that my husband bought me one. We were choosing between a Canon camera and this one, i'm glad we chose nikon.

The book that i wanted was ordered already, it's always out of stock the reason why i had to order it online. So there, two out of three. Well, the house and lot would have been a great gift too (haha) but i'm sure it will come and God will give us one soon :)

I had a small celebration with my family and Simon's. It was a good evening. We had buffet at Don Henrico's and capped the evening with coffee at Starbucks. We had a good time catching up, chatting and showing off how active our babies are. hahaha. Simone and Justin kept on running around Starbucks like they own the place. hahaha.

I got less number of greetings this year. I don't know if it had something to do with my shrinking circle of friends or that i did'nt treat anyone this year. hahaha. but it's really no biggie. Surprisingly too, I became less and less affected about it. I was greeted by my family and my closest friends and it's more than enough.

Thank you Lord for another year and the journey that continues for the years to come. :)

The one with 2 years and a half

August is always a special month for us and Simone turned 2 years old and 6 months. Time really, really flies so fast and I just could'nt imagine that a year from now, she will go to school already. waah!

She speaks english and tagalog. She answers to conversations. She answers to three questions in a row and these are'nt boxed questions.

She's very much of an achie to Justin and Neyo. Last night, Justin accidentally bit her and she cried so loud but she did'nt throw a hand at justin nor did she get angry at him. katuwa.

She loves to imitate people, what they say, when people sing and she can remember tunes like the back of her hand.

She still loves cars, live animals, balls. I would'nt surprised if one day she'll ask for truck accessories to go with her toys in her playroom. hahaha. But she's all girl don't worry.

The one with it's not as bad

I turned 30 last august 20. (oh, which reminds me, have to change the number on the upper left of this page, harhar) anyway, it was not as awful as i thought it was. I was able to watch an episode from Friends where they all turned 30 and it was so funny I watched it on the eve of my bday. And on some parts, I was able to identify with them when they said that turning 30 makes you sad because you're not in your 20's anymore and that you have to live your life seriously.

My achie asked me how i felt, i said it was ok. and then she followed with, "may family ka na kasi e." siguro nga that's how it is. but whatever the reason, im just sad i can't say twenty plus anymore. just like when i turned 20 when i can't say the word "teen" at the end of my age. hahaha. it's a new chapter, a new phase in my life which i'm excited to journey in :)

And since my metabolism will be slower than before, need those fat burner supplements ASAP. hahaha.

The one with she walked

Last Aug. 1, we had a very busy schedule. I had three parties that day plus a wedding to attend to. I could not miss this wedding as our baby was one of the flower girls. When Onin (the groom) asked us for Simone to be one of the flower girls, we kept on telling them not to expect so much as she's just 2 years old. Out of all the weddings I attended and organized before, the youngest flower girl that i saw walked the aisle was 3 years old. And everybody was telling me to dress in motiff too as I may have the greater chance of accompanying my baby, if we're lucky enough that she'll march.

When we tried the gown on her, she was throwing tantrums already, as in she did'nt want it on her. kaloka! so we thought, "yeah, she won't walk..." after about ten minutes, she got tired of crying and attempting to take off her gown that she stopped and got used to it. Her gown was made by my mom in law, of course. and mind you, she made it in three days lang. hahaha. cool!

So there, while we were in line, she suddenly asked for crackers. and i was, "oh no! if i can't give her the crackers, she will sure throw tantrums" i was trying to call maru but she can't pass since the march started already. and then i told simone, "you know, the crackers are with daddy. you go to daddy and get the crackers" and then voila, she marched! her walk was slow, and she even stopped in the middle, as if knowing what she was doing. She was all-smiles and very behaved holding her basket with her two little hands. hay. im just one proud mom. I saw some cellular phones being taken out and taking some shots of her as she was really a cutie having to walk all by herself.

I love you baby and daddy and mommy are just so proud!

The one with a full life

Everybody's talking about her. Almost all blogs i surf are about how they are all touched with her passing and of her life. And yes, she may have gone up to where she truly belongs, but hopefully, we will always remember the legacy she left....democracy.

In every Filipino life, one has to experience a President's passing. In our case, it was that of Cory's. I may be alive during Marcos or Ninoy's death but since i was just 3 or 4 then, I had no idea of what happened (yeah, you do the math. hehe) And it makes my heart leap and it gives me chill and goosebumps having to see what Filipinos did on their farewell for the most-loved president. A part of me, i should confess, felt shame of not being able to be there in person to experience it first hand. But i prayed for her and the country. I prayed for what will happen in the future. I had mixed emotions. There was fear, hope, love stricken for the Philippines and sadness. I felt really sad and found myself with a bucket of tears for the family she left. I had to cry over and over while watching Kris last speech for her mom and I remembered my mom. I was reminded of how we should always take the time to tell our parents that we love them, to take care of them and always make sure that they feel happy and that they live a full life.

A lot of Filipinos were awakened with their Filipino blood. A lot of us felt the fire of that democracy she fought for. And beinga true Filipino, it is our responsibility now to continue what has been started. To live, in every way we can, the Filipino way...and that is freedom.

To you Tita Cory, thank you. I thank God for your life. I thank God that more than a leader, you were a mother to us all. Salamat.

The one with missing in action

Yes, I'am missing in action for almost a month already. I have so many stories to tell and to be excited about but I can't find the right timing to do so. yikes! But i can't complain. I don't have the right to complain. God is good and I'm sure it's just a matter of prioritizing things and time management and everything will be pretty back in shape (err, i'll get used to it...)

I seldom talk about partyboosters here since this is my family blog but can i just say that I'm so grateful that God blesses us with clients and I mean, it's really overwhelming. I know you'd hear this on awards night, but really, "I never expected this." hahaha. and siguro nga it's true, that you set your expectations low but you exert your best effort. It has always been true to me. When I started Partyboosters last year, I never, never expected that we'll have events on a weekly basis and not just one party but on the average of four parties over a weekend. When I share it to my husband and my friends, nakakakilig lang coz I know it's God's favor. Parang dati, happy nako to have one party sa isang buong weekend. hahaha. and now, nakakatuwa that there are bookings up to March of next year already. hahaha.

Although looking at the other side of it, it's also building stress and pressure on me. Before I'd have more time surfing the net, updating my multiply and answering to clients' emails. now, i barely have time for a decent manicure. As much as possible, I don't want my quality time with my simone to suffer and I mean that. Mawalan nako ng "me" time, that's ok. But I can never lessen the time i spend with my daughter, even if she had to go with me during set-ups and meetings, I don't mind. hehehe, that's what we actually do now. :) But like what i shared to a client and some of my bestfriends, I don't want to be burn out. That's why I had to decline some clients already for some dates this month. It's my birthday month and I want to enjoy the most of it, for crying out loud. Pilitin ko talaga mag bakasyon, promise! If only an apatrim can also lessen my stress and not just my weight. hahaha.

More kwentos to share on my next posts...

The one with achie

Last June 26 was the birthday of our achie, the eldest of the Tan siblings. To my embarrassment, I almost forgot about her birthday. well, i was still able to greet her in the morning but my mom in law reminded me about it pa. yikes! bad!

We treated our achie for an Ultra 7 cinema experience. We watched Transformers 2. For a while, I had second thoughts about it since she's not a fan. she does'nt even know who the characters are. hahaha. but when she said it's ok, we got excited pa rin. Unfortunately, even if we watched it on a monday, we only got two seats for the reservation so simon had to watch it on another cinema 30 minutes later from our showing time. hehe.

Ultra 7 experience is really one of my best cinema experiences. I've always loved Eastwood but this cinema gives me the best service ever. :) There are only 60 people who can watch at a certain showing time, there are lazy boys situated by two's with a very good distance from each other so that when you recline the lazy boy, you won't hit the head of the one in front of you. haha. you just need to raise your hand if you want more popcorn or drinks. winner! unlimited popcorn and drinks for the whole duration of the movie. Gosh! Service deluxe to the fullest! I think the only thing missing were alarm systems on every lazy boy so that you just need to press it and someone will immediately attend to you. hahaha. abuso!

After the movie, we were happy that achie enjoyed it, as in. she's kinda picky kasi on cinemas and she really enjoyed the ambiance and the service. more yey! unknowingly, she felt that we always spoil her on her birthday and it will always be something unique and first-time experience for her. Last year, we treated her kasi for a lea salonga Cinderella stage play, our first time too. i think it's just our subconscious way of making her feel that was want to thank her for being always there to support us and guide us and for always being our achie :)

The one with updates

It's been a while since my last update about our family. Simone has learned her numbers from 1 to 40. She's memorized the Barney song and can sing the same song over and over during car rides. as in, she never gets tired of it. katuwa. it's like a loop in an ipod, haha. Other songs that she sings a lot are twinkle, twinkle, row, row your boat, where is pinky? and many more.

I and my husband are currently overworked. harhar. I'm not sure if what we do have peak and off seasons but definitely this month is one of the peak seasons. He has so many deadlines to meet, I have events to attend to. I cannot believe that July 19 is my most number of bookings to date. waah! to think that i turned down two clients already. nyahaha. don't ask how many, it makes me nervous. hahaha. i plan to hibernate starting monday next week to prepare for the events. But of course, we will never forget to treat ourselves right so we reserved two tickets for Boyz to Men concert on July 21. yahoo! im giddily excited! it's a relief that they will hold it on a weeknight. so much better that way! I'm just waiting for the call from ticketnet. I can't wait! hehe.

Going back to us being overworked. Well, we're not really overworked as we still get up late (but sleep late too) and has more control of our time still. So no need to complain. hehe. I think it's the fact that we are more motivated now to work harder since we are saving up for one of our wishlists and since we are now debt-free (im so proud!) as in credit card,zero balance! wahoo! it's so much easier to save now compared before. We just hope the goal amount that we want to target this year will become a reality. haha. so far, we're halfway there. trabaho lang ng trabaho! hahaha. But Florida vacations might be a good dream too, dont you think? *wink*

The one with blabbering

I'm such a blabber-mouthed when it comes to dieting and those sorts. And i can't get it off my system. I just can't find the right motivation to push myself on getting a more pleasing bod. And yet, I keep on complaining and writing about it, despite me of not doing anything about it too. haha, the irony of life. I even surfed on some sites about dieting and i came across an ephedra product that has been banned for quite some time dues to the controversy it was involved with. It got me a little scared but nothing's been proven yet and why will i be scared, i have'nt even tried it! hahaha. funny me!

oh well, no complaints...all is well...if i just learn how to stop eating. hahaha.

The one with catching up

Yesterday was my godson's baptism. Vince is the firstborn of Jannet and Richard and I, of course, took charge of the venue decors. Albeit some last-minute stress, I can still say that everything went well. One thing I noticed lang is that it's so much different pala when your clients are your friends and/or family. hahaha. But I love what I do, so it's something that im sure i'll get accustomed with.

We were'nt able to chat and catch up so we decided to have an early breakfast this morning to spend more time catching up. It was a good girl time at Jannet's place. They're currently based in Bulacan now that's why the opportunity to be together again can't be missed out. We talked about motherhood, house plans, our dreams for our families, how hard it is to budget and of course, the never ending diet plans. hahaha. I even asked them where to buy nuphedra but of course, a healthy way of dieting is still the best option.

Thanks girls for a wonderful time. hope to see you again soon! :)

The one with long hair

Yes, i have'nt cut my hair since august of last year when i had it rebonded. I fear that if i cut it, the straight, long hair effect will last, aka. magtatampo. and my long hair has reached below the bra line, ahehe. in fairness, the long hair makes an illusion that i'm losing weight, when in fact, i can't even button my jeans, hahaha. I always tell myself that I will try to lose weight tomorrow but nothing happened for the last couple of months. i still end up drinking soda, eating ice cream, drinking iced tea and everything that's sweet. :(

So just to make it more illusive, I will never cut my hair. I think it's the best fat burner for me. hahaha.

The one with need of sleep

Whenever I have events, I think I always cram. Despite the arranging of logistics days before, I will still end up not getting enough sleep (read: 2 hours). But it's a wonder i still have the energy to last me the whole day and even after (coz saturday and sunday diba? hehe) But i'm really thinking of getting those outdoor pillows so i can at least take a nap (if there's such time for that) or at least get one of those eye concealers so i'd look a little more presentable to my clients. hahaha.

But to give you an idea of what keeps me sleepless, here are some of our works. Enjoy!