Ang Payag ni MamaGirl

Oh dear! Donations welcome *lol*

This is my entry for the Tuesday and Wednesday edition of Wordless Wednesday.

Hey, hey.
That's one of the giant fish (representing the seafood delights our city produces) that joined the parade in the recently concluded Sinadya sa Halaran festival in Roxas City just last week. Our city is dubbed as the Seafood Capital of the Philippines - and because of the bounty from our seas - we don't/didn't disappoint!

I attended a seminar in a retreat house inside San Antonio Subdivision many weeks ago when this swimming pool collected oohs and aahhhs from me and my officemates. San Antonio Subdivision is an upscale subdivision just a stone's throw away from Baybay with prices of lots ranging from P2,500-P3,500 per square meters. Only the haves can afford these prices, my officemates and I agreed. The swimming pool is one of the many features being offered in the subdivision and I am sure my son would have loved coming here. Sigh, now if only I win the mega-lotto, I'll buy a house and lot here. Except that I don't buy any lotto ticket at all *lol*.

This post is for the Tuesday-Wednesday edition of Wordless Wednesday.

More wordless are found here.

My niece, Chappi, 8mths old.

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In a few weeks time, our organization will be gathering all the beneficiaries from different projects for our year-end assembly. This end-of-the-year event highlights the year-long community activities implemented beginning in January up to December. One of the most-anticipated parts of the gathering is the exhibit of produce, a trade show displays, featuring the products of our farmer-beneficiaries.

Now everyone is excited because it’s like a showdown of each project. For my project, the project leaders and I were thinking of how we can make our displays stand out. One suggested putting up banner stands. We want a banner stand that could withstand the wind, yet light and easy to install, and most of all cheap and yet will last a long time. However, as our meeting went on, we realized we are going to need a bigger space for the products. We don’t want a boring shape for our exhibit so we might get also accentuate our booth with a truss for lights for a better display of products.

Luckily for us, we got all these ideas from Camelbackdisplays.com. It is a one-stop site for all the trade show display needs. We were awed by the great selection of banner stands, truss, exhibit cabinets and more. They are all easy to install, light, affordable (guaranteed factory-priced rates) and most of all, the products could last for years.

It's just more than 30days to go before Christmas and the excitement of my little boy is undeniable. I feel guilty though because with all the work in my hands now - being the end of the year, work is crazy - I haven't even started making a list of presents to buy let alone look for Christmas ornaments for the house?

As a working mother, I am always on the go and finding time to do the household chores is not that easy that it needs careful planning and scheduling. But thanks to the magic of Internet, and to my ever-reliable credit card, I have taken advantage of online shopping. It saves me a lot of time and I can do it right at home with my son.

The worldwide web is the best place to find bargains with millions of online stores out there and ShopWiki is the one-stop site for your ultimate shopping guide. Last time I checked, I found this cool action figures and heroes that I think will make my son clap in delight. With ShopWiki, it helps busy-moms like you and me find products in more stores and with great savings deals to boot, without having to leave our houses and avoiding the hassle of running from one store to another with a crying toddler in tow.

In a place where tricycles are the kings of the road, the first taxi cabs in Roxas City was introduced. Called the Capiz Cabs, the five cabs started plying the streets of Roxas last month. What's more, the cabs are fitted with receipt-issuing meters! This is the first time ever that taxi-cabs operate in the city. More units will be added soon.

Now I ask, what will happen to the tricycle operators and drivers who will, in not so distant future, be affected by this sudden resurgence of competition? Right now I hear varying feedbacks from tricycle drivers when I asked them about this, but I have to say that there are more unhappy drivers.

For more of the Capiz Cabs, please click here.

This is my son, now 4 years old. I took this and edited using my camera-phone. We were all laughing because he vehemently denied that the boy in the picture is not him. I am beginning to see his strong resemblance to my father!

Thanks, guys!

... is where our departed ones lie.
... where we visit them during piyesta minatay (All Soul's Day)
... where we light candles, bring flowers, and offer our prayers for their eternal rest.

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We worked only half day today. The bosses were kind enough to let us get off work earlier than usual so that our officemates who live in far-away towns could go home in preparation for tomorrow's piyesta minatay. We Filipinos commemorate All Soul's day, or the day of the dead, on the 2nd of November, but traditionally, people go to cemeteries on the 1st of November. This is, in some sort of way, our answer to the Halloween celebration in western countries. Why? Because both events have spooky elements to it.

As most Filipino events, piyesta minatay has a fiesta atmosphere to it. Thousands of people brush elbows against each other in the crowded cemeteries, light candles and say prayers for their dead loved ones. People not only bring food as an offering to the dead, but also for themselves. Playing cards, radios/cassette players, or simply chitchatting in front of your dead one's tombs provide entertainment.

Anyways, later today I'm going to visit my grandparents' tombs to avoid the hustle-bustle tomorrow. I will take photos of what went on during the piyesta minatay so that my readers from other countries see this tradition unique only to us Filipinos. My mother with her amiga rented a small store space where they sell drinks and other chichiryas for the people visiting the cemeteries. They want to cash in on the event, and hopefully, they can acquire good profit.

So... have a spooky weekend... awoooooooooo!



Happy Halloweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeen ....

Photo from Bitter Tonic.

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It's been a while since I posted here. There were so many things happening back at the office, especially now that the end of the year is near. Time for project evaluations and report-writing for our donors. So most of us project officers are in the field, conducting evaluation sessions and interviewing beneficiaries to support the data we gathered during the evaluation.

While most of the working population are looking forward to the end of the year (read: bonuses!), we at the office dread it! Due to funding shortages, there will be downsizing of manpower. Those that will be laid-off will be given separation pay equivalent to the monthly rate multiplied by the number of years of service. This is not much, I tell you, since our salaries are not that high compared to others. For a single person, that amount might be enough to tide him/her over while looking for another job. However, for married people, this is definitely not enough. To those who'll be lucky enough to be retained, will have to re-apply for the same position but the salary is not yet known if it's going to be the same level or not.

As of now, the management has not informed us of anything yet as to who will be leaving or staying. Due to this uncertainty, I am starting to look for other options. I would like to work overseas again, preferably to Cambodia where I used to work as volunteer from 1999-2000 and 2002-2003. But my options are open - anywhere will do as long as it is not a war-stricken country. You see, I have a husband and kid and they'll be a major consideration in the choice of country of assignment. And VSO has a positive reply on my application. We'll see. Wish me luck.

This particular WW post didn't come out as scheduled so I am re-posting it for this week's Wordless Wednesday, Tuesday-Wednesday edition.

... and slimy ones too!

I do not know who took this picture but a friend of mine sent this through email. Apparently the owner of this photo took great lengths in putting together the cat's suicide-bomber/terrorist costume. Is this funny or what?

My niece, 10month old Chappi, raising the roof with Grandma. She always does that whenever she hears the word "Viva!".

One evening, just as we were preparing to bed, I heard the kids screaming in the living room. Apparently, my son Joshua and his cousin Beebop saw a mouse running away from the kitchen sink and they tailed the poor mouse up to the living room. My son asked me to take its photo before it could run away. Perhaps the mouse was curious of its "discoverers" that it stayed put in one place.

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