Sometimes I feel like I'm just zipping through the dizzying pace of this fast-paced world, without even getting the chance to take everything in. Well, I can still choose to live life off the fast lane..once in a while. I'm taking things slow, and this blog is just the start.

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Holiday No More

It has been a life-long tradition for Filipinos to celebrate All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day every year. As far as I can remember, this annual holiday is celebrated for 2 straight days from November 1 to 2. For most part of the world, this is a time for creepy Halloween costumes and trick or treats. But for the more traditional Filipinos, November 1 & 2 is a faithful time for remembering the dead. This is the time when Filipino families huddle together and even sleep over at the graves of their faithful departed. That’s why we were shocked with PNoy not declaring November 2 as a holiday. It was the first time in years, if not the first time ever! This declaration got an upset response from everyone especially those who are employed. Personally, I was really dismayed with PNoy’s announcement because I knew one day will never be enough to visit our deceased loved ones.

We at the office were lucky because as a private organization, our management had the option to declare November 2 as a Non-Working Holiday. We wouldn’t have any clients on that day anyway, so why waste the company’s resources? So fortunately for us, we enjoyed the long weekend. I sure did!

Much to everyone’s disappointment, it rained the whole afternoon of November 1. The drizzles lasted until late in the evening so most families were unable to visit the cemetery. November 2 was sunny already so more people made their visits on that day. Eventually, most of those who had regular office on November 2 didn’t report for work; they were either too tired from yesterday or haven’t visited the cemetery yet. So much for cutting the holiday short. It defeated whatever purpose PNoy had in mind.

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Lucky

It hurts me a lot to stop writing those travel and vacation home articles that I've grown so fond of already. Even though most of what I write about are places I've never been to, writing about them feels like I've actually had the real experience. Writing travel articles are so fun, but it entails some thorough researching before you can come up with an informative and catchy 500-word piece. For 1 year, I became an expert juggler - doing my full-time job during the day, attending to my family at night, then becoming a struggling writer at midnight. The heart is more than willing to be performing all these, but the body always has its limitations and will strike back at you real hard - in the form of stress and illnesses.

I cannot sacrifice my well-being anymore. So I mustered enough courage to tell my editor that I want to stop, temporarily, until I get back on track. My online employer is a mother as well, and she understood my struggles. She did not want to lose me on the team, and guess what? She offered me a blog posting project instead. This kind of assignment will be easy on me since it has no deadlines, no quotas. I can post anytime I want, as many as I can :-) I haven't started though; I'm still studying some training videos on how to make good blog posts.

I feel so lucky to be a part of this team. Now I can still pursue the dream ;-)

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Board meeting

I took a leave from work yesterday afternoon to attend OIC's regular board meeting for the month of October. We usually have the board meeting every last Saturday of the month but since the CEO won't be around on the 30th, it was scheduled on a working day. We started around 2:00 pm and ended at 10:15 pm :P Normally the board meeting runs for about 5 hours; we were supposed to finish it by 7:00 in the evening but the meeting was dragged because of the internal auditor's two and a half hours report. If only the auditors left out their immaterial findings, it wouldn't have gone that looong....But for the good of the cooperative movement, we had to finish everything down to the very last agenda.

I've been serving as secretary to OIC's board of directors for 3 years now. If not for Kuya Joebs who recommended me, I would not have been a part of this noble cause. Through the years I've learned a lot and I feel very lucky that I've been entrusted to participate in their advocacy. Alone I am weak, but with others I am strong!

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I need a break!

Last year, my life-long dream of becoming a writer was partially fulfilled. I've some friends who are enjoying extra income through various online careers. Some of them do online job on a full-time basis, while the others who have regular work are doing it part-time. Online careers have become so popular so I decided to try my luck as well. Fortunately, a nice American lady who owns an online company accepted me as 1 of her writers. So that was the start of my so-called writing career…hehehe…

My assignments were really interesting and diverse. I wrote different travel articles; cruise ship experiences and vacation guides mostly. Places I’ve never even dreamed of going. I’ve also had some merchant coupon, WAHM, and do-it-yourself articles that really worked my brains out. I usually write at night, when my kids are all asleep and I can enjoy the peace and quiet. Even though I’m exhausted after a day’s work, I still have enough energy to do my assignments until the wee hours of the morning. This schedule worked for me for a year, until now. 

Just recently, I decided to take a break from writing. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not tired of doing it; it’s just that my time is no longer enough to take everything in. Haay I wish I could divide myself into two, even three!

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