Can a Salad Macaroni Save the Day?

It's just a bad day after all.

[Morning]

The day started feeling overly depressed over coming here. My wind was filled with sadness, worries and anxieties.

I wish I had the power to release all these disappointments and not let it overcome me. I wish I had the support I need to be able to hang on. I wish I had the strength to continue this fight.

[Mid-morning]

It could be sad when there’s no more work for me at Odesk. Well, maybe I just have to try again and look for another task.

[Afternoon]

Retrenchment!
Because of the effect of the global financial crisis, there’s a need to do cost control measures and layoff employees. This news had made me feel sad for the person who had been retrenched in the company where I am working. Maybe if I am the person being retrenched, I would really feel the world had shattered. On the other hand, a part of me would feel relieved. This had made me think of more reasons to leave. I am somehow considering this option.

Somehow, I am a bit prepared to hear and experience all these. All these are right in front of my eyes. I’ve heard it on the local news that Intel plant in Cavite had shutdown, Panasonic Philippines closure and layoffs are becoming rampant. I had become aware of the economic crisis, when my previous Odesk task had made me comment on certain issues. I had come to read about US president Obama’s inauguration, his economic reforms and the global crisis.

Life is indeed so hard, but then, this is the sad reality of living.

On the other hand, I won in the company Friday surprise raffle! If only these disappointments can be saved by a 1kg Sunshine Salad Macaroni. Oh well, I can’t help but just breathe a sigh.

5th Disney Princess Grand Ball

Skylah at the Disney Princess Party of Disney Princess Magazine.

Party After Thoughts

“Mommy, I didn’t won”

“Mommy, why wasn’t my name called for the prize… There are so many prizes and I didn’t have one?”

These words had echoed in my ears and in my mind on the way home after my daughter and I attended a party. Before the party started, I encouraged her to have fun and join the games so she can have a chance to take home a prize. Indeed, she did not disappoint me. She tried to be at her best self and joined the party activities too.

I told her it was fine because she had taken home a loot bag. Still, I know she was counting and wishing to have a prize. I told her that I was so proud of her. Still, I could feel that there’s a slight sign of sadness. Somehow, I had managed not to let her know that I was sad too, because mommy wants her to be happy all the time.

Children’s parties work differently. It’s not always that the party hosts would give them consolation prizes. More often than not, it’s only the winners who’ll get the prize.

This is one of our learning experiences. At a very young age, she gets to experience that it’s not every time that she could win. This is reality and this is what life really is. I believe that she’ll learn to overcome this and through this experience, I know she’ll grow up learning to cope up with defeats and failures.

As a mom, I always want my kids to have the best things in life. We are not rich to buy all those expensive toys and clothes that they want. Nonetheless, my husband and I provide them the best based from what we can.

In the future, I know my children would get to experience their own failures. I need much strength to support them and I hope by that time, they would be strong enough too.

Monday Movie: Changeling

January 12, 2009

It was already 6:30 pm and I was in a hurry to leave the workplace in time to catch the 7:00 VIP and Press Screening for the movie - Changeling. Never did I realize that the MRT was crowded, still, I squeezed myself in, unmindful how claustrophobic it had been. Hurriedly, I stepped off the train to meet my husband and off we walked to Gateway Cineplex.

With much luck, we arrived on time or should it be better to say that the movie started later than scheduled. We took advantage of the time to take some free refreshments.

How did I find the movie?

I am not a movie critic or a movie reviewer, I simply find this movie good enough and worthy of my time. Maybe the other people in the theater could agree with me too. Well, I just hope so. When the film started rolling and until it ended, everyone was focused and glued to their seats, never had I seen anyone who stand up and take a restroom break.

This is one story that had made me emotionally charged; and Angelina Jolie delivers a very compelling performance, seems like you are entirely immersed in her quest to find her son.
This Clint Eastwood's epic-melodramatic movie is based on a true story that happened in 1920s. It tells the story of Christine Collins, a single mother who works as supervisor at a telephone-operator station. When she returned home from her last shift, Christine finds that her son, Walter, is nowhere to be found.

Five months later and in order to quiet the press, the LAPD, who are desperate for good press coverage gives her another kid. Collins knew that the boy is not her son and the scenario becomes clear upon learning that the new Walter is three inches shorter than he was before (and he is also now circumcised). When Collins confronts the police and pointed out their mistake, the police chief and the captain have her committed to a mental institution. It was the local preacher Rev. Gustav Briegleb (John Malcovich) who aided her and takes her cause against police corruption.

Well, isn't a movie of a woman who struggle against a crooked system, fights for the son, or for her son's memory worth watching? This movie could somehow be disturbing and exhilarating, but, satisfying enough realizing how well made it is. Nonetheless, like everyone else, I concur that Clint Eastwood is a terrific director.

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Since I got the chance to grab this ticket from Getzmo and I am a Getzmo blogger also, this blog post will also be posted in the Getzmo website.

The Odesk Project

I just started my first hourly Odesk project. I was hired for a Virtual Assistant job and my first task is Blog Commenting wherein I need to create 50 blog comments. The work is good enough and I am hope the next task would be better as well.

This alleviate the disappointment of the lack of hope of getting an online job. And another dissapoinment follows. Would you be disappointed too if what you're expecting didn't materialize when you were really counting on it? I had anticipated too much; only to find out that there wasn't any trace of it at all! It was like hating where I am...

I guess there's still a lot more to come... a thousand more opportunities to grasp and look forward to. I just need to think and say to myself that it's not just meant to be. Well, this is life. It's fair enough.. and I wish it really was!

Getting Over This

The 11-day Christmas Holiday is now over. Like most people, it's back to the workplace for me. How I wish it would always be a holiday for me! But of course, it could not be. If only I could make ways how to work-and-be-just-at home. I was thinking and planning for this, however, I can't seem to make it work for me.

It's time to face my worries, anxieties and stresses which I could not really avoid. And this is not a good way to start the year!

New Year brings about new hope and new strength; and of course new beginnings. But it seems that I couldn't find that much needed hope in the workplace. I am about to give up.

Or maybe it's time for a change of plan.

Brent at Philippine Star's Kids Only

Our year started with my son, Brent, being part of Philippine Star's Kids Only Violet Playground. We are all very happy seeing his photo published in the first Saturday issue of the magazine.

The Twilight Bug

I am not much of a movie fanatic or should I say a die-hard Twilight fanatic. Never have I been interested in anything that involves vampires and the likes. But with the ongoing phenomenon about this movie, I decided to watch this also when my husband downloaded this movie from Torrentz. Maybe I might enjoy watching this movie after all! Of course I did... this is really a good movie to watch.

Here goes my list of the memorable-Twilight-words:

Edward Cullen: All superhero stuff right? But what if I'm not the hero? What if I am the bad guy?
Isabella Swan: You're not.

Isabella Swan: [to Edward] I'd rather die than to stay away from you.

Edward Cullen: And so the lion fell in love with the lamb.
Isabella Swan: What a stupid lamb.
Edward Cullen: What a sick, masochistic lion.

Edward Cullen: That's what you dream about? Being a monster?
Isabella Swan: I dream about being with you forever.

Edward Cullen: [to Bella] You are my life now.

Edward Cullen: If you were smart, you'd stay away from me.
Isabella Swan: Ok. For arguments sake, let's say I'm not smart.

Edward Cullen: I don't have the strength to stay away from you anymore.
Isabella Swan: Then don't.

Isabella Swan: I'd never given much though to how I would die. But dying in place of someone I love, seems like a good way to go. I can't bring myself to regret the decisions that brought me face to face with death. They also brought me to Edward.

Edward Cullen: You don't know how long I've waited for you.

Edward Cullen: I hate you for making me want you so much.

Isabella Swan: About three things I was absolutely positive. First, Edward was a vampire. Second, there was a part of him, and I didn't know how dominate that part might be, that thirsted for my blood. And third, I was unconditionally and irrevocably in love with him.

Isabella Swan: This isn't real. This kind of stuff just doesn't exist.
Edward Cullen: It does in my world.

Edward Cullen: Your scent, it's like a drug to me. You're like my own personal brand of heroin.
Edward Cullen: I'm going to make it go away, Bella. I'm going to make it go away.

Isabella Swan: Just don't leave me.
Edward Cullen: Where else am I gonna go?

Should I now start reading Stephenie Meyer’s best selling Twilight saga? I guess I won’t. I used to love reading books. Books are great and I want my children to develop this love for books. But now, I would rather spent time on the Internet than bury myself in a book. Or maybe I should start downloading the Twilight ebooks?!

I guess the Twilight bug had just bitten me...

New Year and A New Blog

Happy New Year!

It’s time to say goodbye to the past year and welcome the brand new year! New Year comes with new hopes, dreams, goals and moments; more life experiences and adventures.

I am happy for the year that had passed; it had been such an exciting and worthwhile year for me and my family. We were blessed and I hope the blessings will continue to pour on as we start this year. It really pays to take a glance back on what 2008 had been for me. Life and living is indeed wonderful!

This is indeed the perfect time to start with something new; so let me welcome this year with a new blog! A blog that I have wanted to start with a few months back. Though I haven’t really couldn’t think of the best blog name or the best blog URL for this. I am now wishing I will have more time to keep this updated. I will soon miss Sweet Serenity… from this blog I’ve learned how to be grateful for the life that I have; for breaking away from the complexities of life and for being a more mature and stronger woman!

It’s moving on once again to a new blog space.

It’s now time to start with my Serenity Overload (does it sounds like pizza overload or a food blog?). This is now my personal blog for everything else around me; taking a more glance at the world as a whole!

Cheers to a Brand New Year

I have not been used to making conventional New Year resolutions. I am merely challenged to make each year better than the old one; or better yet, make life and living worthwhile. Yes, I am bound to accomplish more and let my dreams be real. I must my goals and I must then start making my plan.