Tuesday, September 29, 2009

After the Storm

Two days after the storm "Ondoy" left the country, we are still on the process of cleaning the house. Floodwaters entered our living room on Saturday morning and less than an hour later our living room and kitchen were submerged in waist-deep muddy waters. We had no choice but to move some of the furniture upstairs and create a makeshift kitchen so we could still eat. Around 4 pm, electricity was cut off which makes it harder for us. There we were, with only the glow from a candle as a source of light, praying the rains would stop so the floodwaters won't rise anymore. It was a scary, sleepless, long evening for us. 

Thankfully, when we woke up on Sunday morning, the floodwater has dropped from waist-deep to knee-deep. We only waited a few hours until the waters finally subsided and we started our clean up. We had to bring down the furniture from the second floor of the house, we had to scrub the floors, the walls, the chairs and tables again and again so we could remove the mud. We are not yet through cleaning up until today. 

It's very tiring, my whole body is aching. Sentence for today, "an anodyne makes you feel good".

Anodyne: A source of soothing comfort.


Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Some things never change

I am one very observant person and it doesn't take much for something to draw my attention or to amaze me.Me and hubby are big Chinese Cuisine fans. For quite a while, we've been frequenting this Chinese dining place, Silver Star, where his father usually buys Pancit. We ordered take out one day, a serving of Lomi, Chopsuey (my favorite), Lemon Chicken and Shanghai Rice, and we became regular customers since then. When we first came there, I immediately noticed an old school cash register. I didn't think it was working until the cashier punched in our order. I wanted to take a picture then but I was hesitant because I thought the cashier was in a foul mood.  I always wanted to take a photo of that old cash register but I didn't have the guts to ask until yesterday. Me and hubby together with our friend Bong decided to have lunch at Silver Star. I told Bong of how I really wanted to have a picture of that register and he just stood up and went to the cashier. He took photos while making short conversation with the cashier. We learned then that the restaurant was built in 1947, it was still a hotel then. Then the hotel was moved upstairs and the restaurant itself was built in 1948 or 1949. The cash register was bought in the 1950s. It's almost 6 decades since the cash register has been bought and it is still working until now. I asked the waitress if the cash register has undergone repairs since it was bought and she said she doesn't know one instance when the cash register has been broken. Amazing, isn't it?




Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Time, I got tons of it!

It's been a week since I filed my resignation from work and it's a huge understatement when I say, "I am getting a little bored." I got the whole day (and night) at my disposal, to do whatever I want to do, to go wherever I want to go. But due to the consistent rains pouring down the city, I'm stuck at home.

So, what else to do when you can't go out. Lots! Here are some of the things that take up most of my time now that I am officially a "B-U-M":

-Do the laundry. When I was still working, me and Hubby used to do the laundry only on weekends when both of us don't have to go to work. Now that I have the time, I do the laundry almost everyday so our dirty clothes won't pile up.

-Clean the house. Back then, I only clean our room because that's where we usually hang around even when there's no work, but now, I do the whole house as well. It takes about an hour or more, so that's more than an hour less of getting bored.

-Read. I still have a few books left from my last visit to Booksale. I have disciplined myself to make one book last at least a week to minimize my expenses on books. I used to read one book for one day so imagine how many books I have to buy to satisfy my daily cravings for a story. I'm now reading The Chamber by John Grisham - my favorite author.

-Play online games. I'm hooked to Zynga and Playfish games on Facebook. These games are what makes my days less boring. I already maxed out the levels in Farmtown and Restaurant City. I am now on the process of buying a house and designing my apartment in Yoville, I'm taking good care of my fishes in Fish World and I visit my pet every now and then in Pet Society. See, I am awfully busy these days. =)

-Post a blog, blog hop, answer surveys. Being stuck at home limits the topics for a blog so I am only updating this blog every few days. I visit the updated blogs on my blog roll and then I answer surveys if there is an available one.

-IM friends and relatives. It's nice that some people are concerned with how you are doing and how you're coping up with the post-resignation blues. 

It is pretty depressing when you allow the situation to get into your head and when you concentrate mainly on the fact that you are useless unemployed. What you should do is keep yourself active, don't stress yourself too much about unemployment, make yourself useful and keep yourself busy. There are a lot of things that can be done with time that you didn't usually have until now. That's what I am doing. =)


Wednesday, September 2, 2009

Saying Goodbye

Yesterday was my last day at the office. I left not because I have found a new job or that I am not in good terms with my colleagues. I left because of health reasons. My pulmonologist advised me to resign due to the recurrence of my Bronchial Asthma and GERD or Gastroesopageal Reflux Disease. I should take a rest for at least a month while under medication or I should find a job that's on the regular shift (day shift).

I got the medical certificate of not fit to work on Saturday and since then I could not sleep. It was a very hard decision that needs to be thought over and over until I am sure that it is really the right thing to do. I am tempted not to tell my superiors about the doctor's diagnosis because I truly do not want to leave the company. Tuesday morning, after weighing the pros and cons and after much deliberation with my husband, we arrived at the decision that I should resign. Healthwise, it is the best and only thing that needs to be done.

I was supposed to go on shift Tuesday night, meaning I'll report at 9pm and leave at 5:30am Wednesday morning. But, while on commute, I had an Asthma attack and decided not to finish the shift and just leave when I'm done with the paperworks and the meetings.

I first talked to my Team Lead, handed over the medical certificate and my resignation letter. Tears started to flow. We talked and she told me that it's really a hard decision but I do need to prioritize my health over anything else. Then, she scheduled a meeting with our team. The one meeting that I fear the most as I know I cannot control my tears when I say "this is it for me". As expected, I cried as every team member gave messages of good luck, get well, we'll see you again and we will definitely miss you. It's really a sad moment for everyone because we, as a team, are a solid group and it's heartbreaking that one has to leave. We may have our differences but we try to work around them and find some things that bind us together. As we left the conference room, everybody had puffy, red eyes from crying.

I then met my manager and told him of my plans that I will take a rest first as advised by my doctor, he wished me luck and that he and my team lead will be there if ever I needed anything. I proceeded to the Human Resources Dept and asked for the necessary exit papers, decided to return next week to complete my clearance forms.

Then it is time to say goodbye.

I hugged my teammates, my batchmates from training, other team leads. It is really hard to say goodbye and I could not say the word. I stayed at BPSI for less than two years but it felt like I stayed longer than that. It felt like I've been friends with everybody for a longer time than those mere 17 months that we worked together.

I still can't say the word goodbye, so I'm just saying, "I'll see you around, guys!"


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