Christmas Presents

Happy Holidays! Have you started shopping for your Christmas presents? Me, I have. There were so many expenses for this yuletide season. Two weeks ago, my mother and I shopped for new things as my Christmas gifts for them, my family. I bought Mama new sandals, new shirts for Papa, new rubber shoes and new clothes for my younger siblings. Everything was new. And they are all worthy to receive my fair share of blessings. God has been so good and faithful to me this year. I owe Him everything.

I also started buying presents for my God-children. Yes, God-children; Lovely children. I also bought gifts for my baby cousins. I will give all of those gifts on Christmas Day. I’m sure they will all love it. I don’t want to give cash to them. Giving cash is effortless. Effort is priceless and the heart upon giving matters.

Last December 18^th, my boyfriend and I bought his Dad an eyeglass as our Christmas-Birthday gift to him. For a long time, his dad was using an eyeglass that was not his eye grade.

Last December 13^th, my Papa celebrated his 43^rd birthday. My sister Ellaine and I bought him a cake and an 18” Greenwich pizza. Another joyful day this month as God blessed my dad another year to be with us.

Of course, I won’t forget to give something for myself. Another wish granted and another thing scratched out from my wish list. Last Saturday, I bought a Canon IXY Digital camera. It’s actually a third-hand one, and I was able to buy it for a lower cost, but it’s still a good camera. Canon cameras are really good. I just really need one this time because I want my Christmas moments with my family and friends be captured. I am just excited for the things to come.

Let’s not forget to always seek the Giver and not the gift. And in everything, give thanks. As 2010 ends, let’s think about how God gave us presents, blessings, love, protection and guidance.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New year to all!

Got my New Eye Wear

Another wish granted for myself! Wooot! Two weeks ago, our company have free eye check-up from Eye Wear Express for all the employers and have given the chance to buy new eye glasses with discounted prices. Sadly, my eye grade increased. My right eye has 325 grade and my left eye has 275. Two years ago I only had 225-250. That was why after my eye check-up, I ordered an eyeglass that is multi-coated so that my eyes can have the protection from computer's radiation. Because everyday, 24/7, I'm in front of the computer.

I got 15% discount for my new Ted Baker eyeglass made in Japan. I used my old eye wear for two years and I just felt the need to change it now. I am really thankful to God for allowing me to have this. I really love my new eyeglass. I consider this as another treat for myself. 

Monthly Highlights: November

December is coming! Wohooo! Christmas is in the air! I can really feel the breeze. November has been a very busy month for me that was why I only had 3 posts. Our work loads are adding little by little and each day was really a stressful one, but I am happy with my work. I would like to share my favorite experiences for this month.

November 2, I had a reunion with my high school friend Abigail and her family. I missed them for five years. I am very happy to got that chance of seeing them again.

November 7, I was able to see my newly born nephew Prince Liam, son of cousin Josiah. He’s really a handsome baby boy! Really look like his mom.

November 20, I had the chance to see some of my high school friends and had bonding times with them.

November 21, our church, SBC-Makati celebrated with our mother Church SBC-Masinag its 30^th Anniversary. It was held at Ynares Center in Antipolo. The event was entitled “In Christ Alone.” Great time to have the privilege to worship with them and hear His messages of Hope.

November 25-26, two-day Holiday offs. That was due to Thanksgiving Day in U.S.A. Our company also had its breaks during those days. So glad to have rest the whole day of 25^th.

November 24, my boyfriend and I celebrated our 5^th year of friendship and love. We were not able to see each other that day but on the 26^th we went to Enchanted Kingdom as our anniversary date and celebration. We also watched Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows beforehand. We arrived at EK around 3PM. There were so many people. Unfortunately, we only have 5 rides enjoyed. But it was ok, the experience was very very good. I enjoyed each second with him there.  

November 27, our Youth group’s J@M entitled “Higher.” Our crowd was filled with Elementary students. But it’s alright, God has the plan why he allowed the very youngsters to be there.

This month was filled by my friends and so-loved ones. And of course of God’s presence each moment. I am very blessed to have ‘em all. There’s nothing in this world to which they can be compared.

Highs and Lows Last Week

Let's start with the Low:

• I received a last warning from my Team Leader (TL) for browsing non-work-related sites most specifically Facebook. It was a sweet approach and coach. It was really my bad. So immature of me. I really felt bad. I can't afford to lose my job because of it.

Good thing, I have many highs last week:

•  I gained 4 kilograms that made me to have a normal weight.

•  I am debt free now! Yepeee! I was able to pay my long-time debts. Thankful to my schoolmate for her patience and kindness.

•  I saw again my favorite guy and best friend Nick after two weeks of not seeing each other. Thanks to our technology today, it is so great to have cellular phones for instant communication even in long-distance.

•  I am so blessed to see my newly born nephew namely Prince Liam. He's the son of my cousin, Josiah. She said that I am her baby's Tita-Ninang (Auntie-God-mother). Oh my! I have so many God-children! Hahaha! But I am so glad that my friends believed that I am the perfect God-Mama for their children.

Happy to gain some weights

I checked my weight last Saturday and it was so glad to know that I had gained 4 kilos. Three months ago, I was hoping to gain some weight for me to have a normal Body Mass Index (BMI). And without noticing it, I actually gained weight. Haha!

Three months ago, I weigh 45 kilos only. And I am 5 feet 3 inches tall so I was underweight. But now I weigh 49 kilos, I have a normal BMI. I am really glad!

 

I am very happy to be in Normal weight now. I can say that my job contributed a lot on this. I was really hoping before, and now I have made it! I want to gain 1 to 2 more kilos and then just maintain it. I would still want to have some pack of abs. Haha! 

Visited my long-time Friends

Last November 2, after my 3-hour sleep from work, I went to the Barongan's residence. It has been five years now since the last time I visited their lovely home. That day was also Tita Dette's birthday. Tita Dette is the mother of my friend since high school Abigail.When I was in fourth year High School, almost everyday then, I stay at their abode, had bonding time with them,   sang the Karaoke songs, ate a lot of food there. Their place was actually my second home back then, almost. When I was in college, I failed to visit them again. That was why I did my best to be there on Tita Dette's special day for this year.

Here are some of our captured moments:

 

I ate lunch with them, we watched a movie, I slept for 3 hours in Abi's room and then ate dinner. I headed to work at 7PM. Spent 7 hours at their home. Had some quality talks with them, got some surprising news and stories to keep. Told them how am I now and all of the new stories of mine nowadays. We really missed each other. I really missed them. I am very glad to see them again. I'm planning to visit them again by next month. It's very good to have your long-time friends.

Horror Thingy

Horror movies, trick or treats, ghost stories are all around now in celebration of the Halloween. But, personally, I do not celebrate it. I am not belittling all people who are, though. I totally respect them. It’s just not my thing.

I used to watch horror movies before, a lot; Movie marathon of Asian Horrors. The best-ever films that I have seen were Shutter and The Grudge. They were really terrifying that made it tough for me to sleep for a couple of nights. And there was also an instance that I dreamt of Sadako. Eerrrrr! Horrifying! One common thing in Asian Horrors that I have noticed was they all have flash-back stories. I mean, there must have had a story behind all of the Horror thingy.

That was all before when I don’t have something to do during vacations. My “Ate” (sister) in church discouraged us to watch horror movies because my friends and I love to watch those. She said that it won’t help us at all and we’re just letting the devil control us, on which I totally I agree with her. It only fears me and controls me. It makes me paranoid. Ha! ha! Ha!

 If you want to watch horror movies, it’s better to check your spiritual convictions first. Will this help me? Is this worthwhile? Is it what He says?

“…and do not give the devil a foothold.” Ephesians 4:27

It’s just my two cents. Happy November to all!

Monthly Highlights: October

 
Time flew so fast! I did not notice that October is getting over. Well, this month was a very busy and very exciting month for me. Every week I had my schedule for this and that. I tried to recall all of the things that I did and went for October. Let me have my monthly synopsis. I am basing it with my weekends, because Mondays through Fridays, I am at work. I am following a Philippine calendar.

October 2, I was in Baga Berde, attended our Company activity entitled “Circle of Excellence.” That was actually a recognition day for the employees who did great jobs for the past years. There was also a performance competition; my team was required to join. We did Hand mime. Thankfully, we won the second place; ‘Twas a very fun night.

October 9-10, our Team building was held. We went to Tagaytay and Amadeo, Cavite. We stayed in a fabulous home of our team mate JC; Naughty days with the colleagues. I can say that our team really got built.

October 16-18, I stayed in our home in Canlubang, Laguna. Bond time and quality time with the ones that I love the most. I am thankful to God for each one of them.

October 23, I was with our US trainer Magnus and colleague Ed. We hung out with Magnus because that was his last Saturday here in the Philippines. We ate at the Manila Peninsula Hotel, had some drinks in Café Havana and had desserts in Spicy Fingers. All expenses shouldered by Magnus. The 25th, the whole team had our break in Yellow Cab, all expenses paid by Magnus. He left the country by the 26th. He was the best trainer we have.

And on the 30th, our youth group will have again its monthly JAM. The event will be called Step Up. I was the registration and follow-up committee head. It will be another harvesting event for our youth ministry. I am excited!

My October 2010 was fully loaded. That’s living life at its best.

My Own Biz Someday

As a 22-year old lady, I know there are so many things in life that I still need to learn, accomplish and reach. I am glad that little by little, I am learning to be independent. I am now learning to budget, save and give. A month ago, I was able to apply for a Savings account in BPI Family Savings Bank. I am so happy that I have finally done that.

I had my own fair share of dreams, plans and desires. One of those is to put up my own business. I talked to my best friend Nick last time and asked him what would be the best business to start up. He asked me where I plan to establish my business. I told him that I want to put it up beside our home in Laguna, since we still have space in our whole lot area. Those ideas were shared. Then he suggested a water refilling business. I thought of it as a great idea. Our village is not saturated with that kind of business yet. Hopefully, I will be, if not the first, one of the pioneer entrepreneurs with that kind of biz in our zone.

I researched some prior facts about putting up a Water Refilling Station in the web. According to some, the capital would not be more than half a million. Some were offering franchise. I am also thinking of franchising an existing water refilling business. All ideas were already there. I will just need to start the specific planning and saving. I want to start saving up money as early as possible. Of course, I can’t do these all alone. I need people, friends, and experts, to help me out. So help me, Father.

Eloi on Bloggers

 

Bloggers.com have been a great help for me to increase my blog traffic site. I have been on Bloggers for over a month now. And most likely, 90% of my traffic site came from Bloggers. I was able to meet new people in "blogosphere." This social networking site is a huge help to promote your blog and to socialize in cyber world. I am so happy to be on Bloggers.

To view my profile, click the link below:

Eloifuentes on Bloggers

Revisited our New Abode

My father surprised us 3 weeks ago when he already bought things that we need in our new abode in Canlubang, Laguna. Few simple things but enough stuff for a house to live in. Actually, our house furniture is just second-hand, but it is totally alright. Last Saturday morning, I went to Canlubang with my mama, siblings, cousin and best friend Nick. It was a 2-hour trip. I was really excited that time. I was excited to see our new home filled with essential belongings.

We arrived 30 minutes before lunch time, Saturday. I just slept and rested whole afternoon until dinner. Our home is a perfect place to rest. We all slept early that night. 

I woke up at 6 AM, Sunday. My mama and papa went to market that morning to buy coals and food for the whole day. We grilled pork, fish and chicken. Our foods were all grilled ‘coz we don’t have a gas tank yet. Last week, my sister and I bought a rice cooker for us to be able to cook rice even without gas tank. That Sunday was a family day. My granny and some relatives also followed in the afternoon. My baby cousins played in the mini pool. We just enjoyed watching them playing. We took numerous pictures. It was really a fun afternoon bonding with my loved ones. Sunday evening, we visited for a while my parents’ friend. We all slept at 10 PM.

I woke up at 7AM the next day. My dad went to work, my sister Eunice and “lola” (grandma) went ahead of us to Makati. Nick and I watched the movie The Time Traveler’s Wife. That movie’s very nice. I made the most out of the remaining few hours of my stay in our new abode because at 9 PM of that day, I have to go to work in Makati. At 3 PM, we all went back to Makati and Nick to his home in Las Piñas. I got home in Makati around 6 PM.

My 3 days and 2 nights stay was really awesome. I plan to go there during my rest days at least once a month. I will also slowly buy things that are still needed in our new abode. I hope to stay there everyday but my work is in Makati and it will not be wise to travel 4 hours everyday back and forth.

Training Graduation Day

Our work training formally ended last Friday. That's a special event for my whole team since we undergone training for 2 and a half months. It was not an easy training but with so much fun. We met our four great trainers from the U.S. I am so blessed to have this group and to have these people in my life. We've known each other for almost 3 months now and we are all looking forward for more years of bonding and friendships. 

Here are our shots during our graduation:

Wanna be a Network Engineer

I am working as a VoIP Installation Engineer. This is just my first job, I mean full time job. I started working last July 26. My training just ended last October 15th and we were trained for 2 months and a half. We were trained by four American trainers, and they are all very good people. The training was not really easy. Our account is really not that easy.

As we went along the training, I realized that there are so many things that I really need to learn and to master. Sometimes, I think of myself as a “Jack of all trades, master of none.” But I really got encouraged by my trainers. I wan to be like them. I want to be a “geek” as they are. My last trainer shared so many thoughts that encouraged me to master Networking since I just had basic knowledge of it. I don’t want to remain on the basics.

My next mental goal is to master Networking. My colleague Ed also motivated me to study more about it. He wants us to study together and help each other. I am really thankful to God for this new chapter of my life. Life is indeed a continuous learning process. The more we learn new things, the more things we still yet to know. So amazing!

Beatiful You

A friend blogger, Krislin, encouraged me to write an article about "being beautiful" a few days ago. The I thought, "Yeah, why not write about it?!" Thanks for the idea Krislin! You are really such a blessing. Stay beautiful!

When people think about beauty, we may first think, "Am I really beautiful?" Often times we may feel the opposite thing. But the truth is, we are all beautiful. You may say, "Oh Really?" Yes, that's true. Let me share this very beautiful words,

" For you created my inmost being, you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made, Your works are wonderful, I know them full well."

Psalm 139:13-14

See. How can we say that we are not beautiful? We are wonderfully created by God's loving and mighty Hands! And everything, all things and everyone that He created is beautiful! Wow! Amazing, isn't it? Hope that would be an encouragement. You are beautiful.

Then how to stay beautiful? If troubles come, can we still feel the beauty that we are talking about? Well, problems are inevitable.But, God is good and is very huge than our problems. We still need to stay beautiful inside and out. The secret of beauty is being with all of the beautiful people that you love and who love you. Always smile. Smile from the heart. Always love. Always pray. Colorful make-ups, elegant dresses, high-heel shoes and fitness programs are just secondary matters, and temporary. The most important is the beauty inside of us, inside you.

Our Team Building Photos

Just as I have promised, here are our shots last Saturday and Sunday (October 9-10), our weekend Getaway:

Great Weekend Getaway

Right after our shift (9PM to 6AM), my whole team (Work Team) had our way straight to Cavite. We actually had our team building last Saturday, October 9. We stayed at Gonzales' residence in Amadeo, Cavite (few minutes away from Tagaytay). It was an overnight stay. It was actually a bonding time. The house is really good. I had my own room to stay in for the whole night, since I am the only girl in our team. We also shoot our training graduation presentation there. The graduation will be on Friday, October 15. 

Saturday lunch we went to Tagaytay to eat in a Bulalo-serving restaurant. Bulalo is a famous Filipino Beef dish. I failed to remember the name of the restaurant. The restaurant has an overlooking feature to the Taal Volcano. Very relaxing. Their Bulalo was really great and tasty. The best-ever Bulalo I have tasted so far. I had a great lunch experience there.

I will write more about our team building memories in the next days. I will also post our shots here. Just can't wait to write about my Bulalo-eating experience last Saturday.