I was browsing the web on for some car care tips ( not that I have a car of my own). I guess I was just curious on the proper way to take care of cars.  So I happened upon the website of one of Shell’s franchises in the Philippines and boy, their tips are very extensive.  I guess anybody who is a newbie could definitely use the information on the said site.  Although I was a bit amazed to not find covering your car with a car cover when you’re not using it as part of it’s car care tips.  I guess who ever wrote it  was more concerned about the enginge than the over all look of the car.  But come to think of it car covers can also help maintain the car right?  It can help protect the car from humidity, moisture and dust which could damage the paint of the car and the engine as well especially if you won’t be using it for a while.  Is this correct or is it just me?  But anyway, if you go visit their site, just add my tip to cover your car with a car cover to their list of car tips for additional protection and car care.  Hehehe…

I went how to Samar over the weekend to see my parents, siblings and realtives.  It was a bit of an effort going there for you will have to ride a ferry for 2 hours the ride a bus for 4 hours just to get to my hometown.  A lot has changed over the year that I was there.  I guess that was what becoming a city is about.  But going there was definitely worth it for I get to see how my love ones are doing and I also get some time off thinking about how and where will I get my meal for the day and how high the prices are these days for I just gave the money to my mom and let her buy whatever she wants to prepare for lunch and dinner.  Not seeing how much I spent on a pack of pasta or whatever sort of lowered my stress level.  You see when I am here in Cebu, I would usually go to shops with promotional products (meaning they sell products with discounts or products with freebies) when I go shoppping.  Why?  To save money of course.  Call me cheap but I guess that’s just how you would feel when you spend hard earned money.

I didn’t realize how important life insurance is in the US until I saw an episode of Oprah on taking care of one’s finances.  On that episode her guest specialist scolded a couple for the wife has no job, the kids doesn’t have health insurance and the dad doesn’t have a life insurance.  You might say so what if they don’t have an insurance?  I guess the guest was a bit concerned about waht will happen to the kids if something happens for the couple has a very large debt.  Like what if the dad died.  Who will take care of his family when he’s gone?  I don’t know how a person qualifies for a life insurance there but in the Philippines, you will have to go through an extensive health examination before you get a policy.  If things are the same in the US then I wonder how Oprah’s guest will react on a no exam life insurance?  I guess she will be handing out pamphlets and forms to everyone she meets and make them get a policy from a company who offers it just to make sure everybody is insured.   Thinking about the discussion that I listened to in that episode, it made me think to get a policy now.  You know just to make sure that everything will be in place if ever something happens.

One of my favorite chefs in the world is Wolfgang Puck.  He is from Austria and learned how to cook from his mom (like me! hehehe).  I saw him once on the Lifestyle channel and I loved his recipes right then and there.  They are simple to do and they taste really good.  He is one of the celebrated chefs in Hollywood and owns a chain of restuarants.  He has a website which I love to visit for you can find a lot of recipes there that you can make at home.  One thing that I like about chefs like Wolfgang is their love to share information.  He loves to give out tips that will make cooking easier for those who are adept in cooking and those who are just starting out alike.  You can find some of these tips on his website as well. One of the recipes that you will find online is his pancake recipe which he also loves to serve to his kid.

Play is a great way to teach kids and develop their imagination.  I don’t know if you’ll agree with me but some kids get to learn what they want to be when they grow up by playing games.  When I was growing up, we didn’t have PSP or XBOX then so I would usually play with my cousins.  And since we didn’t have that much toys to play with, we would make our own toys.  The boys will make there own slingshots and toy guns using bamboo sticks and wet paper while the girls and the less violent boys would play “bahay-bahay”.  One of the favorite games that we love to play is building a small community were some kids would have a small business like a restaurant while the others will take on the consumer role.  Before the game starts, we would collect candy wrappers for our play money, collect small pieces of vegetables in the market which we use in the restaurant and gumamela flowers which we chop up and use to color and thicken the water that we use as palamig (a local term for juice in the Philippines). I remember being one of the kids who chops the vegetables into smaller pieces and cooks it on our make shift stove (we use a lamp as a stove and a tin can as our pan). And since we don’t have a lot of toy plates to play with, we would use softdrink caps and crowns as plates and crowns. Hmmm… I guess that’s the reason why I love to cook, dream of becoming a chef and own a restaurant.

One thing that I don’t like about being upset aside from being upset itself, is I have this urge to shop like most women do.  It will be good if I find myself in the supermarket for how much could you spend on groceries right?  But it will be very bad for my finances if I ended up in the shoe department in a mall because if I have a lot of money with I could end up buying three or more pairs of shoes.

A few days back, I had an argument with my mom over the phone, a very petty argument but I ended up so upset with myself because I know that I have lost the argument and I have hurt my mom (a lot) which I don’t really know how to fix just yet.  So I went out of the house and ended up in a mall and found myself having the urge to spend.  I was thinking of eating at the Sphagetti Factory (since eating is one of my ways to calm myself) however, I thought about my financial state these days so I decided to visit the supermarket.  Since I was craving for sphagetti and some grilled pork I bought 3 pieces of pork steak, 400 g. of sphagetti and 500 g. of lean pork meat (yes, am a carnivore).  I spent around three hundred pesos (ouch!) but comparing it to the amount that I could spend on eating in a restaurant, it’s a lot cheaper.   So here’s my Pan Seared Pork Steak with Rosemary and Oregano And Aglio Olio Sphagetti with Parsley which reminds me of a dish I had at Casa Verde last weekend. I think it was Tommy’s steak And Aglio Olio (which has beef steak instead of pork).  After preparing and savoring my creation, I felt a lot better (though it did not take away the fact that I still have an issue to fix with my mom).

Project Runway winner Christian Siriano

Christian V. Siriano is the designer that our dear fashioistas should watch out for. Or should I say one of their most sought after designers? He’s only 22 year old but he had proved so much that it is just right that he should be given a space in the fashion world. I remember the first time that I saw him was on Season Four for Project Runway where they were asked to make clothes out of Levi’s jeans and make them into a new outfit. Seeing what he came up with, I knew that he’s really good and it turned out the judges of the program agreed with me (not that my opinion counts). During the show, a lot of people are in doubt if he’ll be able to pull it off ( I guess it’s because of his age… you know how some people are, they tend to associate age with experience, skills and talent. sheesh…) but he proved them all wrong. Now at the age of 22, he had designed clothes for fashion icons and big celebrities like Victoria Beckham, Heidi Klum, Dayna Devon, Kimberly Clarke, Eve and am sure the list goes on and on.

Below are some of his creations and if you want to know more about Christian, his works and how to order visit his site at http://www.christianvsiriano.com. Am sure you’ll love him even more.

Christian and his works...

Yes, yesterday was a Saturday and we are supposed to be resting on a Saturday. Well that is if I have “normal” job. And so I was working and get to talk to some customers and everything was going well. I was able to help out customers which made me very happy until I got to talk to this customer who was very rude and insulted me throughout our conversation. Saying that I should be using my thing between my ear every now and then. And that I am inexperienced when it comes to the issue that he is currently having and so on and so forth. He was really getting into my nerve and so I ended up telling him that I am a college graduate and that I was a Computer Technician and I do understand what he is telling me and he doesn’t have to keep on repeating himself. Sheesh! And then I told him what I will be doing for him, then he went “what is your name and your last name?”. And then, I did not say you did not finish college. You are very rude and that is very insulting! I was like “What?!” (to myself of course) What the heck did I do? Was it wrong to say what I have said? Was that very insulting or rude? he was the one who said that I should be using that thing in between my ears! He did get into my nerves you know (which doesn’t happen all the time) and what he was saying was very offending. And then he even threatened me that he will be recording the conversation like haller!!!!!!!!!!! He should have done it on the onset of the call and he should listen to it so that he could listen to what he had said!!!!! #^&^*&&!

After 2 days of migraine and 2 days of dizziness, am finally able to go back to work and visit the blogs of my friends and fellow bloggers. When i got to the office, i had to attend a 4 hour training and an hour and half for calibration and uh-hm an award for being the top team for July! Yipee! Kudos to my previous team who had to put up with my tantrums. My boss said that I was too harsh on them but i just don’t know why but at times i can’t seem to stop myself from nagging them as i nag my friends and siblings about things that could have been done differently. But I sure am glad that the hardwork of these guys had paid and hopefully we can go out and eat again.

Anyway, I went to see a doctor about how I was feeling and guess what she was not able to find anything wrong with me. Aside from my low red blood cell count she couldn’t find anything else that is out of order. She just told me that it was caused by a virus when I asked her what kind of virus, she couldn’t tell me anything. I’m not really sure if I should be glad that she was not able to find anything wrong or if I should be more worried. Sheesh…

Earlier, I talked to a mom of my previous agent and I was kinda sad to learn that he doesn’t go and see his mom and it has been going on for three months now. I know that there are things that we can’t stop from happening and there are times that we can’t help but have an argument with our parents but to go on and not see and talk to them is something that we really should give a lot of thought. For me life is too short to hold grudges. We will never know what will happen in tomorrow or even in the next hour and a lot of people who have lost their love ones and was not able to make amends with them ended up regretting for the rest of their lives. I always believe that our differences are usually due to miscommunitcation and it only takes one person to open up to start resolve the problem. I heard that he doesn’t want to see his mom because he doesn’t want to give her money. What kind of reason is that? Money is something that you can earn. Why are you so afraid to share it? Granted that you had a fight but why let it drag for too long?