This is what you make when you spend an eternity queuing in NBI service center

It's still 5:30 am but I'm already starting my day queuing at J Center Mall. I consider this a happy consolation; I wouldn't have to go to Tuburan for my NBI clearance. 

Government office, wherever they may be, has always the same pattern. You go there early, fall in line, and wait. WWWWAAAIIIIITTTT for 48 years. No breakfast, no early morning coffee, no early morning texts, no calls. Frustration at its best. 

So much for the unfulfilled cravings, I tried reigniting my creative self while I thought about queuing for my future. I grabbed a sheet of tissue I got from some coffee shop and scribbled words. Words to phrases, phrases to sentences. It's in my Mother Tongue. 

Sa akong pag-inusara,

akong gikalingawan ug pilo imong mga sinina.

Ako na kining gipang labhan ug gipang was-wasan.

Humot tu-od, apan ayaw palabi ug pagpasingot.

Bisan unsa pa ka limpyo,

mabasa na gani sa imong duga, 

mura ra gihapon kini ug wala.

Ampingi baya imong bisti nga pang ilawom.

Dili lalim iyahang obligasyon.

Dili sayon ang tigpugong sa gigikanan 

sa kinabuhi ug kalipay. 

Ug kana mada-ot, unsaon na lang?

Akong gilain imong kamisin.

Kwelyado, V-neck, ug polo,

para dali nimong matultulan and imong isul-ob

nga mahinumdom ka's atong mga suroy.

Kining polo nimo nga puwa,

ang una nakong wala kinahanglana,

kahinumdom ka?

Apan, una pa. 

Tulo na man lang diay ni imong karsones?

Imu na tingaling gi-una ug hatod

sa primiro niining kaban. 

Hapsay na ang tanan.

Ikaw na lang ug sulod sa bagahi-an. 

Mupid-ok na ko ginagmay.

Lawom na ang kagabhion. 

Ayaw kusga ang kasikas.

Ug sa imong pag-biya,

        palihug sirad-e ang pultahan. 

I have no title for this poem and I have no intentions of giving one. I'll just let it be. Forgive me for being a sucker when I'm sad. 

Meanwhile, Last Saturday...

Being young at heart, mind, and body is the best opportunity for people to take advantage of the world. When you're young, you can name a hundred and one things to do for three days, more so if you're financially capable.

Last Saturday is a celebration for young professionals and all freelancers who are speeding up their way to earn $$$. Yeah baby!

Virtual Staff Finder's Location63 (which is by the way responsible for my payslips) conducted a free seminar for all aspiring virtual assistants (VA) and those who want to improve their content marketing skills. What made it really special is I got two of my friends with me as attendees!

It's their first time going to our office as most of the other VA's. While they are not BPO virgins, I don't think they fully grasped the idea of what I do at work so I guess that seminar made them understand me better and I hope it convinced them to try freelancing online one day.

It's Sexy Being a VA!

I don't know if most of you felt it, but being a VA is somehow becoming a trend. Just like iPhone5, Gov. Gwen, and Justin Beiber, it's cool and timely being an online assistant these days. Not only that you can get your salary tax free but also you can have the schedule flexibility you've always wanted.

                             

But if you're not really into work-from-home and you find simple joys in commuting on PUJ's everyday (like me!), you can still become a virtual assistant. If your virtual employer lets you work in a coworking space in Cebu, then you're one lucky guy!

Not everyone has the opportunity to work in a wacky and youthful coworking space. It's like being in an office and working at home all at the same time. Not cool enough yet?

What if I told you, you get to have free unlimited Italian brewed coffee all freakin' day and a ridiculously fast WiFi connection?

These are just a few of the many perks of becoming a VA. Why not become one right now?

Best Year-end Regrets

It's exactly 6 days, 2 hours, and 4 minutes before we'll all throw our 2012 calendars away. Yep, 2013 is coming and the end of the World is postponed until further notice. To all doomsday preppers out there, better luck next time. I bet most of us will watch the movie 2012 in hilarity, including myself!

Well, here we are again, about to start a new year. To many, new year is symbolic and to others, it's just another good-for-one-day event. I want to look at it as a chance to look back and move forward. The good thing about New Year, except from restarting my number of tardiness to zero in my workplace, is you get to make lists like this. Listing is fun! So I'm going to do it now before I hit the sack. Here are the things that I should have and shouldn't have done in 2012:

1. I should have blogged more. Seriously, this blog is made for a reason and it's almost a year-old now but I only have a total of 5 posts including this one. Well, that sucks. It's not as if I don't have time because it's always there waiting to get managed. It's just that my mind is a bit preoccupied. There are too many concerns to think everyday that I failed to hit the keys for this.

2. I shouldn't have made another Tagged account. Tagged is a dangerous place. Period.

3. I should have practiced my hand writing. Sometimes, technology deteriorates penmanship. I don't have the best handwriting in the world but I must say my penmanship before was more legible than what it is today. What a waste!

4. I should have saved more. I screwed up a bit on financial management this year. I know you'll forgive me if I say that I'm a freshman when it comes to home management, and man, it's hard! Salute to all breadwinners, home makers, and to people who are both!

5. I shouldn't have gave in to the temptation of food. It's always my illusion that I have a favorable metabolism. Looks like I have to wake up to the reality that I'm born with "fat genes". I'm not blaming the bloodline or whatever, it's just that I failed to adjust to what has been given to me. Oh the glory of eating and not getting fat! Why won't you be mine?

6. I should have slept more in a day. With the kind of work and hobby I have, sleep is a luxury. In 2013 I swear I'll sleep more especially during weekends. I guess this is the reason why I feel tired and weary most of the time. Stress kills, and sleep is the cure.

7. I shouldn't have loved dangerously. I'm always the daredevil when it comes to experiences. The love for life, the love for something, and the love for someone can sometimes derail me from doing what should be done. It's always a bad idea to give in too easily but when you do, make sure you can stand by your decisions and take consequences whole-heartily.

8. I should have traveled more, like out of town or something. My Moalboal experience is my first act of rebellion, as what others should call it. I call it stepping up and there should be more of it next year.

9. I should have read more. I might catch up on my reading next year. I bought more than 10 books this year but I only finished 2. What a loser!

10. I should have made history. Social media can take you far, I should have grabbed this opportunity to be BIG (not in size but in ideals), like being a martyr or something, just kidding! But seriously, if you want to be anonymously famous, the Internet is the place to go.

I may have more year-end regrets (about a hundred of them!) but I choose not to publish more. Who knows? You're a 13-year old reading this post, and my other regrets are just not age-appropriate! :)

Merry Christmas and a Happy, Blissful and Blessed New Year!

Food was Here, I'm pretty sure about it

Sometimes, I can be so impulsive and the day would die if I'm not able to do what I want. So when I woke up early one morning and thought about that Sunburst branch on my way to work, I grabbed my cam for a little anticipation for real time documentation.

Skype group chat is love. We create mysteries there. What we normally talk about is history, but what's not to disregard is our chance to talk about dinner dates and lunch outs. And so we have decided out of that spontaneous, early morning thoughts: we're knocking down crispy pata. By the way, this isn't just the same old food tripping, it's a welcome party for our newest group chat member Trina! She's the newly hired web designer of our team and the latest addition to our group chat sessions. Sorry pal, but you just got to follow the biotchness. Forgive me for the term, I just can't help it. Before anything else...

R.I.P to the hog who died twice...

...and to the food which was here.

The Gang...

They're just incredible. Thanks guys for cheering me while I was taking pics of the food and the whole thing. You get into my nerves sometimes, though. haha!

Jazz "the gurl" herself

Trina the L2S Newbie 

Momi Gen the Lunch Out Person

Me? Oh don't bother for pics of me in this post. I simply want to make myself hidden for a change.

Sunburst ambiance impressed me. It's classy looking for an average priced restaurant. Hands down to whoever the interior designer was. There were interesting pieces you could feast your eyes on while waiting for the food to be served. Plus, there were not a lot of people when we came, so that adds up to the comfy feeling we had.

          (above) Porcelain wall decors of Sunburst; The place when we were there (below)

 If I could remember perfectly, it was 12:15 when we arrived to the place; a little late for a typical lunch time. So it's forgivable that we were all starving, hit the menu and choose the best variety good for the stomach and pocket.

As I've said in my previous post I have always been a calamares fan. It's not a wonder why I look for it every time I open a menu from Filipino-themed restaurants. It was an "OK" calamares for appetizer, but I wouldn't want it to be on the main course (which I usually prefer). It's too bland and it can't compete with their flavorful crispy pata. For all those passionate carnivores out there, you got to try this Sunburst specialty. Yes, it was served later than the rest of the dishes but it was worth the wait. I can honestly say to you right now that I'm making myself hungry by reminiscing the crisp of the outer layer and the tenderness of the meat itself. It was just heaven in a steaming 1:45 pm. 

Calamares and Vinegar

Crispy Pata 

If you're into balanced meal like us, include their chopseuy selection in your choices. Not only that it's healthy, but also pacifies the full-flavored crispy pata. Unlike the chopseuy we make at home, the veggies still look and taste fresh. It's half-cooked but you can certainly taste the distinct flavor of each ingredient. Coupled with shrimp, fishballs, and tiny cuts of pork, you're good to go with this veggie recipe. 

Chopseuy

Of course we wouldn't forget about drinks. It wasn't that special, but it concluded the an hour of succeeding starvation and feast. 

Iced Tea and Pineapple Juice

Mango Shake

For only PhP 1000, you and your friends can have a great lunch out together in a clean, well-organized place. Over all, I recommend this place for family gatherings, reunions, getting-to-know-each-other kind of dates, and for casual occasions like what we had (e.g. payday celebration, because everybody is suppose to be merry on paydays). Visit Sunburst A.S. Fortuna branch and we might just see each other. We're definitely pigging out again there very soon!

Sunburst A.S. Fortuna, Mandaue City branch

How to Enjoy the Beach (Pinoy Style)

Summer has started almost a month ago and I apologize for posting my first "summer blog post" halfway before the rainy season.

April's heat enticed almost everyone to head themselves to the beach and it is not a wonder if some of you hit Boracay and Palawan. For some who prefer to enjoy the local sun, especially those who are living in Mactan area, you always have the public beaches of Marigondon, Lapu-lapu City.

The shorelines of the place are nothing but political and a linear version of the social pyramid: Plantation Bay, Vaño Beach, Marigondon Beach. But you don't want to talk about that, you want some summer lovin'!

I've been living in Cebu all my life, in an Island called Mactan and here's what we do when we go out for some beach party.

1. Food.

Is a must. We're bringing the banquet to the native cottages and glimmering sand! What's a beach without sinugba, kinilaw, softdrinks, and liquor, anyway?

 So there's what you call a goofy food capture. It's when you're caught between biting your food and smiling for the camera. Aren't we just cute?











This is how a sinugba looks like for the average pinoys. No drama, just your good old rock salt, pepper for style, and well heated charcoal. It's highly carcinogenic (they say) to grill your meat under direct charcoal heat. Oh well.. this grill is great; so, whatever!

 After everything, serve it with intense cuteness!

2. The Beach with the Gang.

Who goes to beach alone?  No one, but the brokenhearted. Fortunately, hearts melt in summer and not break. Hearts are malleable in the summer, they melt with your sweat. But who cares about a broken heart with this scene?

                                            Don't act innocent. You know you did this before!

As much as I would like to list everything down, I have another summer getaway tomorrow. I'm heading to bed now, so, Ciao!

To be continued...

The Mooon Travelers: Pic reviews of Mooon Cafe Restaurant in Parkmall, Cebu City

There's no other thing that could make an average employee happy (like me) than to have a Friday payday. It's party baby! No, it's not the "party" that you have in mind; I'm talking about food trip. Food party! Last night was a blast especially when I spent it with two of the coolest office mates I had in my entire professional life. We were planning about it for a week and choosing Mooon Cafe is certainly not a regret. Before we'll share to you our palate experiences, here's the cast: 

This is Ann

This is Momi Gen

                                                                                                               

Where am I? You can take a look at my profile if you want *wink, wink* 

The Mooon Cafe restaurant is a Mexican resto with three branches all over Cebu: one in Guadalupe, Ayala Terraces, and Parkmall. 

We arrived there at around 7pm and it's not a surprise to see the resto fully occupied because, again, it's payday. The expectation made us a bit patient, while we waited for an available table. When we found our place, we immediately asked for the menu. There are a lot of delectable selections but these are what our eyes favored:

Chicken Mozzarella

Pasta Carbonara

Mooon Steak

Calamares

 It's our first time dining in this restaurant and it would be interesting to try something we don't usually have. Sure we can eat pasta, steak, and chicken anytime we like, but it's not about the food itself, it's the "kick" in the food. For instance, you can have dozens of breaded chicken in your plate, but there could only be one which can impress you. If you're passionate about food, you know what I'm talking about ;)

First, their pasta carbonara is like no other! There's a garlicky taste that you couldn't help but remember (it's the only pasta carbonara I had with a garlic aftertaste). It is delicious, but if you're not into strong tasting spices, I recommend other pasta variety such as "Spaghetti ala Moon" which follows your traditional home made spaghetti with a Mexican personality.

Their breaded chicken sounded more like pizza, but it didn't get away with the all-time-favorite chicken taste, only better. I personally like mozzarella in various dishes and having it as highlight in a chicken recipe makes it more interesting. The meat was fried just right; no premature cooking, bloody, and oily elements. In other words, perfect. Speaking of perfection, I couldn't say anything less to the calamares recipe. I'm a calamari fan but this one convinced me to go back over and over again until I get tired of squid (which I probably won't). Some calamari dishes are gummy (which I hate). It stops the momentum of tasting a supposed-to-be delectable food. 

Let's get to the steak. As a meat lover, it would be peculiar for me not to like steak. The steak was OK, not bad but not distinct as well. Though the meat is not hard to chew at all, it would be difficult for you to appreciate. I've tasted a variety of steaks in Cebu, which is probably why I don't get easily impressed.

For some refreshing "panulaks," we had 2 glasses of iced tea and a pineapple juice for Momi Gen. 

The drinks were normal and I have a strong feeling that our iced tea was the regular litro pack you can buy at any convenience store. Sorry about that Mooon, but I think you need to reinvent your best selling beverages, just to be different. The image below was not in our list. It's just that the containers are so cute, we can't help but order. Didn't taste the blueberry desert, but I think their leche flan was fab!...if only they can make it bigger than a shot glass size.

Blueberry Desert and Leche Flan

The Mooon Ambiance: Cozy and weirdly beautiful

With just about Php 1,000.00 you and your friends can have a great and full Friday night!  I heard about other dishes in Mooon and I will definitely come back for another round! ;) 

Mooon Cafe accommodates reservations and drop in restaurant goers. If you plan to go on a peak season, say payday or holiday, making a reservation would be more ideal. The Mooon Cafe branch we went to was in  Enclave Bldg. D - 4-6B, Parkmall Mandaue City. You can contact them at 505-3965. 

Mom Got On a Plane, What to do next?

I don't want to measure the volume of the tears I shed the day my mom went to live in the States for good for three reasons:

• I'm not good at Math ("not good" is an understatement).
• Crying when someone leaves is NOT Postmodern, and that'll undermine the image I'm trying to put up. On the other hand, crying in the bedroom while listening to "Leaving on a Jet Plane" as background IS Postmodern and Melodramatic. Those two make a great tandem. 
• Finally, there's really no means of measuring tears because it's just a "salty water from the eyes" if you shed them with no feelings at all. So if tears is equal to emotions, then tears are immeasurable. 

The notion of "you're-finally-free-'cause-your-mom-is-not-here" is a myth. Here's the thing: my mom left me with my grandma who practically stays in her bedroom 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Don't think about laziness yet,  my grandma needs all the comfort she can have, just like any other elderly lads. As a trying-to-be-responsible adult, you can't let her think about bill deadlines; she'd been doing that for more than 50 years, don't you think she deserves a break? This left me to become a home economics supervisor, and it's not a joke. 

You're a newbie to home management, and I can understand if you mess up with little things, but what you SHOULDN'T blow is your monthly budge. 23-year-olds like me should be hanging around Starbucks, racing after Whalesharks, planning an out of town vacation, or watching movies weekly, but that is not my case; too good to be true. Doing all those would mean breaking your most beloved piggy bank and never getting anything in return except for tagged photos in Facebook from your Whaleshark adventures. For young, vibrant, fun-loving young adults like me, here are some things that I've been doing for the past few days to make home economics easy.

• On food budget. Planning meals on a daily basis is a headache; that's already tried and tested. So what I did is list the recipe we're going to have for the week (I'm working full time during the weekdays which makes it utterly impossible to do other things aside from waking up early and taking a bath). Select budget friendly and healthy recipes, they work well if you're living with your grandma; veggies and fish are your grandparents' friends. Highly perishable ingredients should be consumed immediately, while meat should be kept frozen. Thus, it is wise to buy them on the day you'll use them, but for other ingredients such as spices, you can buy them ahead of time. 

• On daily expenses. It's necessary that you set a limit to your daily expenses such as your transpo needs or else, you're broke. In my case, I spend about Php 28 for fare, and Php 20 for lunch, for a total of Php 48 a day. However, there are times when Matia's BBQ house, which is located outside our workplace, tempts me perfectly. I recognize my weakness as a mortal and I admit that I can exceed my 48-a-day budget whenever our team goes for a lunch out. This should not bother your conscience, as long as you're not doing it always. After all, all work and no barbecue makes you a boring zombie. 

• On leisure. If you'd tell me that you don't need enjoyment because all you care about is your money and career, I'd be more than willing to call you a hypocrite. Honestly, who doesn't want to be pampered? On the other hand, fun is very tricky: when you're on the edge of enjoying the moment, you can't seem to get enough, but when it's over, that's when you realize that what you did was just 'too' over the top. The keyword is self-control. Never lose your senses on fun moments; they kill the hell out of your wallet! 

• On bills. I hate bills, and so do you. I know this because people will do anything if there's a way to get things for free. In the age of commercialism, however, "free" is a big lie. The problem with many consumers is they use services but never bother if they can pay them as agreed. Phone bills, electricity charges, and water bills should be prioritized; pay on-time as much as possible. 

At first, you may find it difficult to act as a real adult, but you'll get used to it in no time. All you need is to fix your mind about the reality that partying is not your thing anymore. Solo living doesn't suck. In fact, you'll appreciate little things more than ever, especially if you get to extend your budget up to the next payday. Remember the feeling of satisfaction and fulfillment when you switched from pencil to ballpoint pen in elementary school? That's more like it. ;)