Product reviews

I've always sought for affordable but great products, whether they be food, clothing, gadgets, etc., I'm up for a good bargain. Value for money as what we call them. We Filipinos love these kinds of stuff - from ukay-ukay (2nd hand clothing stores) to cheap eats like street food or those sold in food carts - and that's why our very own countrymen make these things a business endeavor. While some may say that not all items are of good quality, there will also be some bits and pieces on the other end of the spectrum that would impress you. Let me share two of what I have found recommendable.

Chow Pao from Chowking

Tasty treat

My husband and I tried this just out of the blue when we went shopping one pay day. We ordered breakfast and agreed to try the new product which has lots of colorful ads all over the fast food joint. At first I was reluctant, thinking it might be an epic fail and it might not be big enough to satisfy our huge appetite. Clearly I was wrong. It was very tasty. They were made fresh so they're not sitting in one of their steamers waiting to be ordered. The bun is very fluffy and cute. My apologies as this is how I find the bread. It is like a burger but if I'm not mistaken the bun was made from the same dough they use to make their siopao. They weren't too skimpy nor overloaded with filling. Just the right amount of meaty sausage with Chinese siopao-like sauce with freshly chopped veggies (carrots and cabbage) so you'll get to taste every bit of the whole thing. And that "CK" mark on top, that is real and not just a fancy advertising entrapment to entice you to buy it. There are different fillings to choose from - chunky beef, braised chicken, chinese sausage and chinese sausage special. Hubby ordered the braised chicken while I chose Chinese sausage special. I must say I was surprisingly impressed. Certified budget-friendly and would be what one needs when one is hungry. Over all, I would rate this as a 9/10. You should try one before they are gone.

Fruity, minty or sweet

Sealed with a kiss

First time I have ever tried their lip balm was when my sister gave me one as a gift for my birthday. The flavor was peppermint and putting it on my lips reminds me of a certain brand of peppermint-flavored chewing gum. I know that sounds funny but that's what goes on in my head whenever I use this. I enjoyed their product so much that I've asked my sister to buy me one. The second flavor, the one I'm using nowadays, is Wild Berry which tastes kinda like strawberry. Not really sure if they are the same thing but it is nice and smells good too. Keeps your smackers moisturized during any kind of weather. With the price of 65 pesos, this is a keeper, well only until the tube is empty. I probably will try the choco fudge flavor after I've finished this current one I am using. I might end up licking my lips all the time if it's chocolate flavored. Again, a must try for every girl, teen, lady or woman who want all natural ingredients and are open-minded to try yummy types of flavorful treats for your kissers. I would give this product a 9/10 as well.

If I do come across new products which are wallet-friendly and made with good quality ingredients, I would be glad to share them again on here. So everyone will have an idea of things that are classified as cheap but not compromising in their standards. And with all the prices sky rocketing today, we all could use these kinds of items for ourselves. It still enables us to indulge ourselves from time to time without breaking the bank.

Grateful

Short but sweet. That's probably how I'll describe the title. For the last *counts with her fingers to be sure* 11 months I have worked for a construction company down under and I must say it wasn't that easy. My colleagues at work will testify to that. Stressful most of the times and demanding even but God is faithful and true to His word. He saw me and my colleagues through.

I simply enjoy good food surrounded by a fun gathering of folks I call friends

I was actually pondering on whether or not to write a 'flashback' and tell the story of how I ended up working for my current boss now or later on. Well I have thought again and my alter ego says to postpone it and just do it before or at least the week of my first year as their employee. I was already contemplating on how to celebrate it on the 8th of August which is the very first day I started to work. A couple of months ago, I think it was in the middle of May, one of our lunch buddies, Errol celebrated his 2nd year in the company. We have all talked it over that it would be a pot luck and bring food and share them together over at lunch like what we normally do when someone celebrates his/her birthday. We had loads of food that day! There was barbecue courtesy of Rommel - the barbecue king, Jessica bought our dessert - cassava cake, Beth, Ces and I chipped in on buying pancit, Rodel bought the drinks and cutlery while Errol bought two tubs of ice cream. Boy that was some lunch! We couldn't even manage to finish it all. That was how I imagined I would celebrate my anniversary next month. Simple lunch with lots of food and great company of friends. But I believe God has a better plan for me.

Surprisingly later that same month, I got the news from my supervisor that I would be sent to a two week trip to Queensland all expenses paid for by my boss. It was really shocking to hear from my superior who we often thought would be just joking around. But it was confirmed by one of the bosses who rang me the following day and told me that as my 1st year anniversary gift, they wanted me to come over and experience being in the actual workplace. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. All I could ever tell him to every sentence he said was 'thank you'. The following week, the owner of the company rang me and told me the same thing. So that's twice the confirmation! I told the good news to my friends at work and they all congratulated me. I have shared to my workmates the two dreams I had about going to Australia. It was not that long time ago, probably mid-February and another one after that. I never would have thought it would come true! The first dream was very vivid to me. I was in the office with my boss and I was in front of a laptop and he was asking me to search for a specific abbreviation which I couldn't find at all. The second dream was the boss was asking me to buy something for his baby which I had to find in the Philippines and bring to him in Australia. It was such a weird dream I saw myself walking literally on the world map like a cartoon-ish map from my home country going down to Queensland. I try not to think about it too much because I know with dreams, it is only God who can interpret our dreams, remember Joseph who interpreted Pharaoh's dreams? Genesis 41:15, 16. So I just shrugged those dreams but now I understand what they were. In short, I was going to be sent there.

This will be the very first time I will be traveling internationally by myself

After the euphoria of the good news, I feel bad I couldn't take my hubby along with me. I shall be missing him for two weeks as he has always been my companion for the last two years when we go traveling in and out of this country. My parents were very happy for me when I broke the news to them, most especially my mom. She was so excited she kept asking on and on during the whole time of the visa application whether the embassy has released the papers yet. The visa application by the way was very different from what I have experienced with the UK embassy. We used an agency to do all the processing and filing of the documents, all we ever did was collate all the requirements and photocopy them and the messenger of the agency picked it up from the office. Thankful that, that is now all over. Whew! That was kind of confusing as well. It actually took less than 10 days to be processed and we got the visa the following week after everything was sent to the embassy courtesy of the agency. Lots of 'y's I know. The visa is just paper, they don't label it on your passport. Don't know why but that's what they said. Plus the downside is they took all my original documents and they wouldn't return it which is a shame. Other than that, all was well. One of the best things I have felt so blessed about is what my boss's PA's daughter, her name is Chanel did for me. Her mom told me, when we were anticipating the news about the visa, Chanel was told to pray for me so that I would be granted the visa. Now, I haven't seen nor met her yet but I appreciate what she did for me. I was almost in tears reading Jodie's email about it. That was very heart warming. It is true that even a little girl, she is only seven years old, God can use her to touch other people's lives and also be a blessing to me. I feel very humbled by what the Lord showed me. God has been so good to me.


When a child prays it is always sincere and very humbling for us who are older than them.

I have always wondered what will happen on my first year. Yes, I'd get my paid time off so I can take a break from work without worrying of how much I would get the following pay day. Also gained a year's experience in case I would like to switch careers which I had also thought about before. Promotions - probably, we don't know. But I will be very honored if I would get it. What else? I think gain more friends and knowledge on the job that I do and more tasks to perform. Other than that I wouldn't have imagined anything else. I thank God everytime I think about this trip. I sometimes ask myself, whether I deserve it or not. Sometimes I feel like I'm not that good enough but I am thankful He loves me the same as everyone else.

Just for today, expressing what I feel and what has happened for the past few months in my job is what made me share a piece of the puzzle called life. It may not be picture perfect but I praise God for what He has done and has planned for in my future. Just as I was in the middle of typing this, my mom had an accident and my dad and I had to rush her to the ER yesterday. We are all believing God for her immediate healing and speedy recovery. Not only that, we hope we can, as a family, come together and help support the financial side of it as well. As the saying goes, "God is bigger than the problems I have." If I may add, one of the verses in the bible that talks about being grateful - 1 Thessalonians 5:18 "Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you who belong to Christ Jesus." (NLT)

 I remember a quote saying "There are no good or bad luck in this world, only blessings and blessings in disguise." God can turn something bad into something beautiful we just have to trust Him and be thankful for all the things that come our way. Not here to preach, but to testify about God's goodness. And for that I am very grateful.

No weddings, just funerals

My hubby was telling me, while we were hurrying up to get dressed to go to a wake yesterday evening, "Of my one year stay here in this country, I have already been to 3 wakes and they are all from this street where we live in." Another one from our subdivision has kicked the bucket, as some would call it. This is the third time, there were already two previous wakes before this which we have attended. I know it's a bit odd or sometimes people find it scary and they become hesitant on discussing or even thinking about dying but the way I see it, death is inevitable. Nobody can escape death and live forever. Either we die young, die of sickness, accident, ill-fated (murder probably) or die in our old age. That's a fact.

So there I was sitting in my dad's car, with the other neighbors (plus my husband), on our way to the wake which is in the next town, while everyone was chatting about what happened, different things came into my mind. The sad demise of our neighbor shocked everyone including me. People have mixed feelings about it. As we all know, if a person dies of sickness there's always that sympathy vote and everyone else gets conscious of their health and try to know what really happened before this person died. My sister and I (my second sibling who is a nurse) were discussing it Friday night when he (our neighbor) died. I was not close to this man, although I must say I have been to their house a few times, during birthday parties etc. and I have been (along with my sisters) playmates with his sons, the eldest of whom I treated like a younger brother. So I basically know their family. When we arrived, I feel shy going in because there were a lot of people. Most of them are from Meralco, where my dad along with Mr S and a lot of our neighbors have worked for a very long time until they eventually all have retired.

Is saying 'I am sorry for your loss' or being a shoulder to cry on enough?

Going to a wake (or even a funeral), doesn't scare me at all. But it makes me feel shy and a bit awkward towards everyone there especially if I'm not close to the family of the one who died. What would I say? How do you show your condolences? Do you just shake their hand and say 'My deepest condolences' or 'I'm sorry for your loss'? Is that enough? I don't think that's enough. I mean, we all have experienced losing someone we love whether a close family member or a distant relative, nobody is immune from this heart-breaking occurrence. When I saw the eldest son, who up to this very day I still call by his nickname when he was a small boy, I gave him a pat on his shoulder (even though he is now taller than me) and said 'Condolence bro.' and he just nodded his head and shook my hand and my husband's hand as I introduced them to each other. We greeted everyone we know and my dad mingled with basically everyone who were there (I call him Mr. Congeniality as he knows everyone there). We stayed there about a good hour and a half and then went home.

What legacy do we leave behind aside from money and properties?

One of the thoughts that came to me while I was there was what do I want my wake and my funeral to be when I die? What will they be talking about while they are all sitting there during my wake? What snacks or drinks should they be served? What color and type of flowers will I want beside my coffin? What color will my coffin be? Will it be posh or just the normal one? What songs do I want to be played during my funeral - rock, pop rock, jazz blues, serenade? I'm kidding on this one. Who will be the pastor to officiate and pray for my loved ones? Will they be talking about good things or good memories about me or just what happened and how I died? Will they all be crying of sadness or will there be tears of joy? It made me think if I should write my last will (and testament?) now even though I don't have anything to actually leave behind money wise. Not a bad idea. Maybe write down a few things I would like when I 'fall asleep and never wake up'. But before that, what do I want people to remember me for?

What will people say about me at my funeral?

The bible verse that the psalmist wrote tells exactly what he asks of God, "teach us to number our days that we may gain a heart of wisdom." Psalm 90:12. We always get caught up with all the hustle and bustle of life that we forget we are only here for a 'short time' and that our lives are borrowed from our Maker. I believe the psalmist (David) wants to humble himself and let God teach him how fleeting his life is and what he can do to make it a significant one. This is my prayer as well. That this passage from the bible would always serve as a reminder that I am a mortal. My life has an ending and that one day eventually, I will cease to exist on this planet. What I can do is to make the most out of it and as much as possible, impact other people's lives by helping them as best as I can. I don't want the people at the wake or at the funeral to just talk about how I died and end the conversation there. "Oh she died of this and the doctors couldn't save her anymore. Such a tragedy. She was just [insert age here]." or something like, "She was ran over and there were no witnesses. They are trying to sue this so and so in court... blah...blah... Her husband and children are here. They are torn because of the loss." Who wants to hear only that? Although I know I won't be able to hear any of it, I would prefer the people to tell my family and friends how I have touched their lives through mine. I am not perfect but I know there is always room for improvement and by God's grace He will change me, as I let Him guide me, from glory to glory.

One thing I also learned after attending three consecutive wakes (I never get to go to the funeral because of work schedules), is to love my family and make the most of my time with them. Whether they be my parents and grandma - they are already senior citizens - my siblings, though they are still young, they are not always here at home so we don't get to see each other that much; my husband who describes himself as 'half-way through a century' and also my friends, I do my best to show how I appreciate them and also tell them how much they mean to me. I was itching to ask one of the sons whether or not they have spoken to their dad before the medical procedure he undertook which sadly failed afterwards, but I chickened out. I wish I mustered the courage to do so but I don't want them to feel bad even more if they didn't. I sincerely hope they did speak to him and have at least said how they felt to each other. I will be praying for this family that God will assure them they are loved and they can depend on him through tough times like these.

And about dying, I don't want to sound brave or not afraid at all but what I know is (and what my faith has taught me) when I die I hope I will be prepared to meet my Lord and Saviour and be welcomed in His loving arms and be with Him forever. That is what I can call truly resting in peace.