Hard Work

I read something funny early today… very apt for me…

I know this is the universe’s way of sending me a very strong message…

 

Doing nothing is the most tiresome job in the world, because you cannot stop and rest!

Get it?!? Hahaha!

Karen start working na kasi!

Dinner at Piazza Pazzo - Powerplant Mall

Yummy food, great company, wonderful evening. (click here)

need i say more?

This Is Getting Ridiculous

I feel like a ping pong ball… I am again to be transferred back to my former unit…; the unit I was more than happy to leave…

Yesterday, my boss talked to us. When he called the meeting, I had no inkling that this meeting was going to involve me… I’ll have to hand it to my boss though, he handled the situation pretty well… he tried to break the news to me as gently and as professionally as possible…

My former boss resigned (something I was hoping for while I was there…) and so there was a void in the organizational chart. A section head will assume that position, and being that I worked there for sometime and that I supposedly I had a “grasp” of the transactions(boo), I was hand-picked (blech!) by our division head to assume the vacated position….

Hmmm… how do I feel? Mixed emotions really, all of them negative. Hahaha! I thought I was already home, back to my original department 12 years ago…back with the boss I’ve stayed loyal to through the years and through the other bosses I had… only to be brought back to the unit I (ehem) disliked and which I thought I’ve finally escaped. Hay.

Although this time, I can choose to see this positively. This time I was transferred because apparently I already know most of the transactions there. As opposed to trying to teach a new officer everything about the department.  

Please bear with me. I just received the news yesterday afternoon, just before leaving for home. I’m giving my self 0.5-1 day more to wallow in my misery… then tomorrow, I’ll be back to being a ray of sunshine. =)

This is a blessing. This is good for me… the universe has conspired for this to happen… this is meant to be…

Hmmm. Maybe tomorrow I’ll believe these words…

For the mean time, I still have a couple more hours to wallow in my misery… hehehe.

Books: Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life by Amy Krouse Rosenthal

As I previously shared, I went on a shopping spree on scrap books, and one of these books is The Big Picture by Stacy Julian. In the book, she listed books that inspire her in her scrapbooking projects, I copied her list thinking that I’ll check them out the next time I go window shopping in our local bookstores. She had only good things to say about a particular book: Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life by Amy Krouse Rosenthal. She said that it is a must-read for all scrapbookers. That the author has proven that ordinary life is interesting, important and valuable. Aha! That was enough for me… I got really curious and interested.

I got the chance last Friday. Hubby and I went to Powerplant Mall in Rockwell, Makati. Of course I simply had to pass by Fully Booked =) I asked customer service if they had the book in stock.. after a few minutes of frowning into the computer monitor… his face lit up, yes ma’am we have one copy! Lucky me!

He proceeded to ask an assistant to bring it over to us. When I got it, hmmm… it wasn’t really what expected, it didn’t really ring any bells and whistles.. It was a simple paperback…bearing my favorite color combination: blue and yellow. =) There was a simple upturned umbrella on the cover.. and these simple words: I have not survived against all odds. I have not lived to tell. I have not witnessed the extraordinary. This is my story.

That’s what struck me. Those statements summarized my whole life! Haha!

Although I was hooked, I wasn’t reeled in that easily. How do I say it? It wasn’t exactly love at first sight for me. When I opened the book I initially couldn’t understand what it was supposed to be. I had dates and lists and tables of random tidbits. I felt confused. This was supposed to be an inspiring book, and yet as I skimmed the pages I didn’t feel inspired at all.

So I stood there, in the middle of Fully Booked, trying to decide whether to purchase this supposedly great book… in the end, I decided to trust Stacy Julian (she is a scrapbooking guru after all). The book wasn’t that expensive anyway at P546.00.

When I started to read the book… I still didn’t like it that much. I just kept on. Until slowly, I started to understand…I started to relate…

And then I came upon an entry: “Tries to write fiction in a creative class in college. Keeps writing the truth, stuff that actually happened“. Ding! That’s me again! For the longest time a writer for me is a writer of fiction, and since I can’t even come up with a fairly decent short story, I have always cringed at the thought/dream of me being a writer. Friends keep on telling me I write well, but how can they understand that I write well only when I am sharing my own thoughts and feelings? How can I make them understand that I need to be inspired/moved by what I am writing about to be able to write well. All the while I though I was just a literary freak that way. Writers are supposed to write prose, and amazing stories… not short, simple, irregular statements of thoughts and ramblings. AKR understands! Hehehe! She even wrote a book about it! She went on to share how mastering the segue worries her, how her writing is such that each paragraph does not drift fluidly and seamlessly into the next. Goose bumps ran up my arms. It’s like she’s a kindred spirit!

I bought this book to inspire me in my scrapbooking projects, instead it has inspired me in my writing…

Thanks for the inspiration… thanks for understanding… thanks for giving due credit and attention to the much-unappreciated ordinary life.

Scrapping Mojo Is Back With a Vengeance

Last Saturday, they arrived! the package i've been waiting for since i placed my order last wednesday:

Yes, i did. i splurged a bit. i reasoned these books are advance birthday gifts to myself. and they will surely last for a very very looong time. these books have anything and everything there is to discuss about the art of scrapbooking!

I have already finished reading Clean and Simple The Sequel by Cathy Zielski. It was such a good read! definitely both inspiring and educational. it was well worth every penny! it is the kind of book that i will refer to again and again. Although i must say that her designs may be too clean and simple for me... hehehe. i like my pics crooked and embellished. =) it helped a lot just the same, especially as to theaspect of organization and creating a system for my scrapbooking hobby.

I am now reading The Big Picture by Stacy Julian. Now her designs are more like mine... organized and clean chaos if you will. i'm not yet done reading but already i am learning so much. i especially admire her handwriting. it is so pretty and she can vary it depending on her mood. and to think i have to purchase the fonts that i use... if i had the confidence to use my own handwriting someday that would be simply awesome!

I realized the importance of scrapbooking. It's not just about the pictures or the embellishments or the alphas... it's about the story behind the picture that needs to be told...

i feel obligated to preserve our memories. if i don't do it, who will? =)

Starbucks 2010 Planner

Since i have been able to kick the caffeine habit just this year, i really told myself i won't even try to get a starbucks plannner for next year...

the promo started last november 4, 2009... 2 days into the promo... i only have 5 more stickers to go... hehehe. of course i didn't drink them all, my friends and i had coffee there yesterday as a despedida to our friend who was transferring to another office. lucky for me, none of them were planning to collect enough stickers to get the 2010 planner... all their stickers were stuck to my stub! woohoo!

plus, i ordered decaf! =)