Signs of being a shopoholic

You might ask me what a shopaholic is? The term was derived from words "shop" and "alcohol". Shop is addictive and so is alcohol, so if you put it together, it's way over control. If you spend too much on shopping, then you're one hell of a shopping addict!

Here are some of the signs that you are becoming obsessed to shopping:

1. Your day will not be complete without buying any thing.
2. The idea of going out to shop gives you thrill.
3. You wouldn't miss the next big sale.
4. When you get depressed or somewhat stressed at work, you proceed to the nearest shopping mall.
5. You just bought 3 pairs of stiletto shoes and you are eyeing another pair and considering on buying it.
6. You have a huge selection of clothes, some even have tags on it still.
7. You buy stuff that you don't really use.
8. You have more than one credit card.
9. You get a little guilty when you get home for buying that jewelry that cost sky high.
10. You're always way over your budget.
11. You splurge on gifts.
12. You only leave the mall when mall is about to close.
13. You have a lot of belts one can ever imagine.
14. Boxes of shoes are scattered all over the room since you don't know where to place 'em anymore.
15. You always have the latest in fashion and you make fun of fashion disasters.
16. You know practically all the brands of perfumes in the world by heart.
17. You have 30 lipsticks of different shades, 2 dozens of blush-ons, 20 sets of eye make-up and they are all stuck in the drawer.
18. You go from one boutique to another until your feet gets hurt that you want to sit down and rest.
19. You can barely see your name on your credit card, it's been so worn out since its being swiped at all times.
20. You love collecting shopping bags of different brands.

So, are you one of them??? Beware!! :)

SO DO YOU WANT TO OVERCOME BEING A SHOPAHOLIC?? HERE'S HOW:
http://hubpages.com/hub/shopaholic

DO WE STILL BELIEVE IN LOVE?

When I was a kid, I still remember how I would answer those slum books of my friends whenever I was being asked what love means. On churches, pastors would talk about how God loves us that He gave His only Son. In school, teachers would explain the different types of love. Parents would tell you not to fall in love. Friends would give you tips on how to make your partner feel loved. Books will give you insights on when you should be or should NOT be falling in love….

LOVE…what does it really means nowadays? Has it become just a 4-letter word in the English dictionary that’s being used everywhere? Even on guessing games? Hell, yeah… I would say that LOVE has been the most clichéd term used by practically every breathing human being in all parts of the world. It loss its real definition… It’s not as magical as it used to be like those exemplary fairy tales with a happy-ever-after ending… It has become so meaningless that we just use it just for the sake of using it…We use it as sarcasm (“Yeah, right, I love you”)…We say it to make your partner feel somewhat better (“I really love you but I need to break up with you)…We say it so we can have something or someone in return (“I love you so much…Now, how about buying me that diamond ring we saw at the jewelry shop last night”, “I love you but I love your best friend more”, “I love you from the bottom of my heart, so can we have sex tonight?”)…We say it to make up with our shortcomings (“I know I cheated on you but I LOVE YOU”)…We say it when we don’t have anything to say (“(long silence) I love you baby”)…

We have grown the real essence of this profound word that we say it 24/7 anywhere we are. I’m sure you’ll hear it in any form every time and you’ll have nightmares if you didn’t hear or say LOVE or I LOVE YOU before going to sleep. Your brain is malfunctioning if you contest what I’m trying to get at. I’m not genius; it just makes me wonder why we are no longer after the same connotation on fairy tales. I’m not talking about deep shit here. I’m talking about the REAL, UNCONDTIONAL LOVE that we’re willing to risk our lives for our love-ones…that we see ourselves with the person the we love until hair are all gray, jaws are dropping, wrinkles are everywhere , hunch backs and all that.

Correct me if I’m wrong: We often misunderstood love with attraction. Women will say “I’m begging to like him” when she just met the guy and went out thrice…”Oh, we love the same movies…I’m beginning to fall for you.”…That’s crap! Men will say “I want to marry you and be with you for the rest of my life” but even before tying the knots you’ll find out such a pig he is for cheating on you half a dozen times. I am not saying that everyone has the habit of confusing love with attraction. I’m just saying that majority of us, even me, commits the same crime.

We also associate LOVE with LUST. You’d tell your best pal that you are falling for your boyfriend whom you dated for what, a month?? And what’s the main reason?? Because he’s good in bed and he makes you feel really special? I know that it is a normal emotion that exists in the real world particularly for couples who spends a lot of time with each other. But it’s not lust that will make your bond stronger; it will be the amount of time that you are together talking and finding out if you will click or what not. LUST is more of physical rather than emotional.

So when did we stop believing in LOVE? When did we outgrow the feeling of loving someone like the way Cinderella’s prince charming (sorry, I dunno his name…if you know it, you’re a full blooded love struck) did when Cinderella forgot her shoes (clumsy of her) and little Mr. Prince Charming there tried to look everywhere just to find who owns the shoe. When did we do away with just saying I LOVE YOU when you really meant it, not just to get her in the bed then forget all about her the next day? When did we start dismissing the idea of being like our grand parents that are still together till their last breath?

I know that there are really people who have not-so-good relationships that left them all alone and hurt, which led them to believe that LOVE isn’t that true after all. Once in our lives, we see everything perfectly, everything is the right place, and then all of a sudden, your boyfriend breaks up with you to be with another hot chick, KABOOM!!! You don’t want the idea of being INLOVE again even if you will live all by yourself in the future. And what you do is to mope the whole day, listen to music that will eat your heart out, eat humungous amount of food, then once you’re fully recovered, you’ll start doing what your EX did to make even. Your heart will be as hard as a stone, you will promise yourself NOT to be in love again…

What will be the end result??NONE. We’ll just go from one relationship to another and see what happens next. Unlike before that even by just mentioning his name with give you shiver, that you can talk about him forever with that sparkle in your eyes…You can describe him with all the positive adjectives from the Miriam dictionary and you feel that it’s not enough…That you can create an essay, even a novel of what you do together and how you’ve met…

Nowadays, you just stay with your partner for a long period of time just to say you have someone, but the spark is gone...the passion is gone…the willingness to do everything for the person you ultimately love is no longer there…You will no longer go to the extremities even if you look like an idiot for the person you’re with…willingness to accept him is out of the question now…Where did it all go??? How can we take it back??

ALL WE NEED IS LOVE. RIGHT??

another day in hell

You can't blame me if I just sometimes drag myself to work literally. If you work for a company for 4 years now, you would probably feel the same. I had my hard-earned 2 days off-work but I still feel that it's not enough...As i write, i only have a couple of hours left and it's work time again...what can I say?

Lately, I've been blabbering how dead-boring my life has turned into. I no longer have time to go out with friends like I used to...Not even have time to buy things for myself. To make things worse, I have to battle my way just to be able to use this freaking pc!! Like I've said before, my hubby and I are both computer freaks. I have to really strangle him to death(of course, I don't do it) so i can use it.

In short, my life revolves with him and my little bratty but ever so lovable son. Going back to my work, it really kills me to think that I have to work on the wee hours of the day when practically everyone in this side of earth are dosing off. Well, it pays well, If I may add, some will say job is really simple and easy, since it's a call center industry that you will say that all you need to do is sit down and take in calls. I DEFINITELY BEG TO DISAGREE!! If you are on a customer service industry, you have to have the patience and the guts to stay with the company longer. You wouldn't want to have irate customers who will curse you to death and will say you are stupid for not explaining the bill where in fact you explained it properly that you even went to the extent of explaining it the way you would on a grade school student, and yet, it wasn't understood at all. You wouldn't want NOT to have a quarterly incentive by not hitting the metrics, say not being able to hit the target for quality and CSAT (Customer Satisfaction) guidelines. You wouldn't want to have high blood or low blood pressure for staying awake all throughout the night. You wouldn't want to be criticized for not being able to at least compose a coherent sentence. I bet you also won't like to drink 4 mugs of coffee every day just to make sure that you are awake the whole night. Well, that just few of those that someone who works at a call center tries to bear just to be paid. It's one hell of a job. I'm not saying that I don't like it, infact, I LOVE it so much. I Love the feeling of teaching new agents how it goes, how they can inprove on their calls and what not. I just want probably to try something new.(Which I DON'T think I'll do in the near future)

So, if you think it's still easy, why not give it a shot...EMAIL ME @ may_delmundo@yahoo.com or post your comment here

my ever so boring week

I have been very busy again this past week that i didn't have time to write anything on my blog sites. I probably had an hour per day to spare, but i have been sooooooo tired that my muse won't work, I couldn't come up with any idea, not even to compose a single sentence!! Plus add the fact that my week wasn't so exciting to brag about. You know how hard it is being a mom and a wife, and working on shifting schedule, i bet, you wouldn't want to be in my shoes.

The most exciting part of my week is being able to at least rest a little while working. Since I am a coach in a call center(let us just NOT say where), and there is no transition(that's what we call the process when agents graduated from training and they will already hit the production floor), we are required to go on phone time(which really sucks if I may add),. Thanks to my BOSS, he's assigning us to only be on the phones for half the shift, then we do floor walk to assist the agents with their questions and take sup calls if there's any(mind you, there's a lot).

Well, I can't complain since that's part of my job. You wouldn't believe me but i LOVE my work, although there are really times that you would want to just give up, try to work somewhere else and earn more....I just don't like the idea of starting all over again, try your ass out to earn a name, and being able to stay this long(4 years with the company and still counting...) And to think that if you stay with the company for at least 5 years, you can file for an early retirement, that will give you 50% of your monthly pay times the number of years...that's money!!!and if you stay longer, benefit will be even more, so why complain??
So going back to my not too exciting week, so if there are no questions, i just take the time to do admin works for my boss, sometimes just smoke...oopppsss....hope my boss won't see this.

You might think that I'm the type of person that just go straight home from work, then, think again. As much as I would like to go out, let us just say that budget won't allow me...so if ever i go out, i make it sure that i can still go home and with extra money in my wallet.

I really hope i'll have a better life this week... Less phone time and lees work loads and more money, if that's possible :)

what should come first

How time flies really fast...I still remembered celebrating Christmas with my family, next thing I knew, we only have less than a hundred days left before that most-awaited season. That reminds me, I have a lot of inaanaks (God children). I think I have more than a dozen now, OMG!!!! I better start shopping for presents now or I hide on Christmas day to save my butt.

As a true-blooded Filipino, I am one of those who really makes an extra effort to celebrate this season and I make sure that I will make my love-ones happy by giving little tokens or memorabilia. Of course, I also want something new, like new clothes, shoes, gadgets and the likes if my budget will cooperate with me. With all the credit cards and bills that i have to pay, not to mention needs of my baby josh my son and my ever-so-luxurious hubby, well, need I say more??

But of course, i have to set my priorities straight. I have a list of what to buy and what NOT to buy as early as now... What needs to be done and what needs NOT to be done...all those stuff...I have to be very careful this time or I'll end up living in the shanties.

So here goes my priority list:
Food for Christmas:
1. Ham - Just the local good old brands will do
2. Traditional Spaghetti (have to do away with white or Italian sauce since they are so pricey)
3. Beef Caldereta - my ultimate fave
4. 1 Kilo cocktail hotdog - the cheaper the brand the better
5. 1 whole Lemon Chicken - will cook it my way
6. Graham Cake for dessert - really easy to do, no need to splurge big time on blueberry
cheese cakes, you just need to buy Graham crackers, condensed milk, whipped cream,
then top it with ripe mangoes and you're good to go
7. Local Wine - Christmas won't ever be complete without wine.

If you have your whole family with you, celebrating Christmas the simple way will still be a remarkable experience.

Gifts for Christmas:
This is the hardest part. Aside from the fact that you want the person to like the present you'd give, you also would want to give every person you know in earth but you're on a fixed income. That really sucks.

For my 3 year-old son, my godchildren, who has the same age as my little kiddo, toys really works for them. Elderly peeps might contest since kids won't be able to use it when they get older, but I don't see the logic of buying something like a pair of jeans or books that children won't really appreciate. They will probably say "Thanks", but will just ignore it and will just continue with whatever they are doing when you butted in. Anyway, there's always Christmas every year, not to add their birthdays every year so why bother?

Now, for your boss, family members, friends and colleagues, You can always buy ingredients or something to make cakes, brownies or Christmas chocolates. It may be a little tedious, but it's worth the sweat. Or, If you're not into cooking, buy regular candles or create candles, the just decorate it with Christmas colors. You can also buy beads and fake stones of different colors then turn it into bracelets, necklaces and earrings, or even key chains. That's what I actually intend to do once my paycheck gets in. For those who would have read it before Christmas, and you received something from me that just looks like exactly what I am describing right now, just pretend you're not aware of my blog.

Women are not hard to please, but for guys?? Well, this is one major challenge for me. If my husband represents all the men in the world, then I'll be poor BIG TIME for the rest of my life. Men are so into cars, sports and gadgets, and I can't afford to buy an ipod or a laptop, much worse a car!!! So I think I'll just settle with the classic socks and neck tie-HECK!!! NO WAY!!! Since I'm on an ever-budget mode, guy-kyechains and pens will do. And If it's a guy boss, then Ill just bake a cake or anything yummy.

Now, for my decorations, I'll make it as simple as I can. For one thing, I don't think I'll have anough money to buy more stuff after buying everything above, and number two, I don't want my electricty bill to shoot up again. That will definitely thwor me out my budget.
Most possibly, I will just use the same decorations i had for last year, If the lighst are still working...just great!! If I need to replace a bulb or two, so be it. No need to buy a new Christmas tree since mine still looks good for me...I might need to add few bells and other decors as well, and my holiday will be more than perfect...

for you mah honey

It's such a pain in the ass having to share my pc with my hubby. He's a computer freak like me that sometimes I would want to strangle him just for me to be able to write, grrrr!!!!We have the same days off, we work for the same company, we almost have the same shift, we even share the same car so it's sooooo hard for me to squeeze in what I love most, of course, it’s pretty obvious what I wanna do…And to think it was solely his idea that I should start to write again and earn a living. He said I should do what I’ve always wanted to do and where I’m very good at…you know husband and your family are your fans. So while waiting for my turn, I played with my son who is 3years young, cooked dinner as early as 4pm, did some of the household chores, played game on my cell phone, and he’s still NOT YET done!!! As if he’ll make money by checking all the cars in the world! As if we can buy those luxury and not so good classic cars. So what is left for me to do?? What else? Go to sleep and just forget about it for the meantime… So yes, I slept @ around 5:30pm, too early, I would say for a Sunday, and for someone who still have another day off. Now, it’s 2am and luckily, my honey wants to go to sleep (FINALLY!!), and the computer is all mine!!! Well, you might think that I hate my husband… I DO AT SOME POINTS…but I LOVE HIM and I’m willing to accept him for what he is AS LONG AS HIS PAYCHECK GOES STRATIGHT TO ME.

This is me and my hubby when we’re not fighting….

HOW IT ALL STARTED:
Almost 6 years back, when I was still in college, I had to meet a friend after my first day as a writer/respondent for one of the major newspapers here in the Philippines. THANKS to STARBUCKS COFFEE, while waiting for my gal buddy, someone asked what time it was then, you know how guys start conversations…then introduced himself to me…well I can’t help if I’m pretty..haha… I don’t want to bore you with all the juices and not- so-exciting details of my love life….so the rest is history, we tied the knots a year and a half after, when we found out that there’s my little JOSHUA inside my belly, had the wedding preparation in less than a month’s time and now still together and hopefully together until all our hair turned gray and have grand kids. Whenever I tell our love story to our friends, they will have the sudden urge to go to the nearest STARBUCKS PLACE and try their luck. And you know what? Whenever I think about it, I realized that my life wouldn’t be any better than this. I feel contented with all the blessing I have, with a good paying job hired by one of the top companies in the world, with a good position as well, having a handsome, witty but bratty kiddo that makes your day complete, having a loving mom and dad even at their old age, and to top it with a very fine-looking, very understanding-although-immature-at-times husband, what else can I ask for? So even if my hubby stares @ the computer forever, that’s quite fine with me as long as I’ll also have my turn.

how to overcome writer's block

For most writers, the worst part in writing is how to start, when you have a pen and paper in hand and you can’t come out with anything to say, like all the ideas are just inside you’re head but they don’t come in together… you’d compose a sentence or two and they don’t seem right that you’d crumple the paper, throw it on the wall like a ball, and will get another paper to scribble some words again that doesn’t make any sense…Since I believe that it’s not only me who has the same tight spot, might as well just start on giving advice on how to overcome this challenge of writer’s block.
TRY TO EXPERIMENT
Try to write using different writing instruments, write in different places and at different hours of the day. Start with the classic pen of using pen and paper at home, when everyone is out, then, if it will not work, then use your lap top, hit the coffee shop and start writing while sipping your flavored coffee. If you feel like going to bars and you think loud music will help you let those ideas come out your brain, then do so.

DON’T BE TOO HARD ON YOURSELF
Just keep on writing and believe that you’ll get there someday. Do not think of how others will react. Turn the critical brain off. You can always edit your article once you’re done. In that way, at least you were able to finish a project, itl just needs a little furnishings to do for the final touch.

BREATHE!RELAX!
Try to loosen up. Think that you’re writing because YOU WANT to do it and not because YOU NEED to do it. Writing has to be something that you’ve always wanted more than anything else in the world. It gets a lot harder if you worry too much.

BEAT YOUR OWN DEADLINE
Set a time as to when your project SHOULD be done, If you have writing buddies, then try to start at the same time and make sure that you will both finish it on the deadline you’ve set. Make sure you don’t beat each other physically, or you won’t have someone to start a healthy competition with.

EXERCISE
They say that physical exercise is important for mental activities. If you have been staring at your computer or your paper forever, then go out, take a not-so-long walk, hit the gym for half an hour or just play tennis for a while. Make sure that you take your pen and paper with you. Just don’t write while doing so, you might be hit by a car or ball or something. For sure,fresh blood will be flowing through your brain and creative juices will start coming out. For most writers, this really wokrs.

FREEWRITE THEN CONCENTRATE
Jot down all ideas coming from your head. Then check whichever matches, segregate the thoughts and FOCUS more on each idea, then write a paragraph or two about it. Then bring them all together, omit the one’s you think unnecessary.

TAKE A BREAK
If you think you have already exhausted all your brain cells and still can’s come up with the conclusion, take a break. Eat or drink something, or chat with your frineds just to relax then go back to your article after. Don’t do it every 10 minutes though, you won’t get anywhere at all.

WHY WRITING??
Go back to the time that you started writing. Try to remember why you are so into it, why it makes you feel that you have achieved something really big whenever you finishes a project, etc. Look at WHAT you are writing and WHY you are writing it. Are you doing it just for kicks?? Do you think readers will appreciate it?
At the end of the day, you will still say that writing is not really easy to do, you got to have the skill, and the passion for it. If you continue to touch base with the pleasure that you experienced when you first tried your hand in writing, it will continue to sustain you for whatever the future has in store for you

insomniac

*sigh* It really is indeed hard if you have to change your routine all of a sudden, say for example your shift. Since I work for a customer service company, schedule really varies...I just came back from my off, so I feel like I just wanna go back to bed and sleep. I went to the office @ 8pm, and shift ends by 5am, now, it's 6pm the day after, getting ready to go to work,and I CAN'T SLEEP!!! What can you say...I've been awake for more than 24 hours now!!You know how your body clock changes??It sucks!Well, that's the price I have to pay to earn money. I'm not really complaining, it's just that i just want to be able to doze off right away. Just think of forcing yourself to take a nap, shutting your eyes close forever and still can't do so. And i dont want NOT to go to work...my boss will kill me...wanna take valium or something or i better stop drinking coffee, what do you think???I'm insane, am i??

how to cook caldereta

Caldereta is actually one of the famous Filipino dishes. It also happens to be one of my favorite meals. It can be cooked with either beef or pork, sometimes even chicken or goat meat(And i dont eat goat meat...eeeeeewww). The sauce is thickened with liver or tomato paste. I LOVE cooking so much, that's why over the years, i gained extra pounds since I LOVE the taste of what i cook (modesty aside)and I LOVE the feeling of seeing my hubby happy with what he's eating....you should see him eat, I swear you'll be shocked (I LOVE YOU HON!!) Like they say.. "the WAY to your man's heart is through his STOMACH" ...well...better check my hubby's belly just to prove how true that quote is.(peace hon!!!)

Well, it's really easy to cook this outrageously delicious viand. Just prepare the following :

~1 kilo of beef(preferably cubed)
~1 cup of tomato sauce
~1 can of liver spread
~2 meduim sized onions(chopped)
~1 garlic (crushed)
~1/2 cup tomato paste
~3 potatoes(cubed)
~2 carrots(also cubed)
~2 beef broth cubes
~ 2 bell peppers cut into strips
~ 1 teasespoon of salt
~ 1 cup unsweetened pineapple juice
~ hot sauce(for those into spicy dishes)

How to cook Caldereta:
Boil the beef for 30-45 minutes or until tender with the beef broth cubes, salt, onion and pineapple juice. While waiting, sauté garlic until brown. Set aside then add beef and the tomato sauce and tomato paste and let it simmer for 10-15 minutes. Add the potatoes, carrots and bellpeppers and once potatoes and carrots are cooked, add the garted cheese and liver spread. If the sauce is too thick, add little amount of water, then add minimal serving of hot sauce.

......AND YOU'RE DONE!!! SO EASY, RIGHT??? I BET YOU'LL LOVE IT :)

havaianas

How I love the feeling of just wearing flip flops!!! When i started working as a customer service representative years back, I was really forced to wear those high-heeled stiletto killer shoes and business attires and it sucks!! It was such a pain(literally) walking in Makati having to commute then. Thanks to havaianas and crocs, now my feet are comfy...I still have to wear business clothes with my current employer, but if you can get away with it, and the boss is not around, then flip flop is good to go. Mind you, have a dozen of those, depends on my mood. If you want to go malling or you have this desire to hit the beach, flip flops will be on top of my list.

writer's block

Writing has always been my passion. It’s where I can express my innermost thoughts, writing is my companion…But as much as I want to pursue career as a writer, something or someone will come along the way. It has been years since I last tried my hands on it…and now, I’m beginning to like the idea of writing again and see if all the creative juices will come out…I honestly don’t know how to start, you know when you get that so-called writer’s block…nothing is coming out my numb mind…but I’ll just keep on writing and writing just hope I’ll get there again someday…Well, what can I say???
I started to write before I can walk, of course, not literally. As early as my grade school years, I already have this thing for writing. Like other teens, I wrote poems about my crush, what love is, what life brings, you name it, and I write it. As I grew older, my passion for it became more intense that I started to join student publications, writer’s and editor’s associations and the likes.
Well, let this be a fresh new start for me…