Are You A Career Daredevil?

I'm asking because I'm not.

I'm more like a Career Chicken.  20 years in the same industry --what does that tell you?

I know of some people who have made drastic career shifts and live to tell the tale.  The writer who's now a chef.  The advertising manager who's now a restaurant owner.  The vet who's now a theater actor.

These are amazing leaps of faith they've taken.  And I can bet my life they can do them again.

Me, my biggest evolution is from being a top manager of a powerful firm to being a stay-at-home mom.  And I'm completely botching THAT up.

But ...that's not my point.  My point is, I do have a job offer and it's far from my 20-year comfort zone.  It's all about digital technology.  And I'm all about being 40 years old who's digital knowledge amounts only to Yahoo Mail and Facebook.  

But the digital guys like me so I might just take the leap of faith.  

Eyes shut.  

Arms flailing.  

Screaming all the way down.

If things don't work out, I'll remember all my 20 years of bliss in therapy.

My First DIY Disaster

It's taking a lot of courage to post this.  This is very embarrassing and unnerving.  

But for lack of anything better to do, allow me a moment to humiliate myself.

Remember that since being a SAHM, I figured I could do more for Kenji's birthday party --having more time in my hands and all that?  So, if you would go back to my earlier post, I decided to take a stab at making the birthday party cupcakes myself.  Now, mind you...I do not bake.  In fact, I'm more like the power tripper who assigns people to do stuff for me.  But the cupcakes, well, let's just say they looked easy to make.  

Little did I know, whipped cream was out to ruin me.

I'm learning now that whipped cream doesn't make good frosting.  It melted and totally liquified into child's snot as soon as we had the cupcakes loaded in the car for transport.  The neat little chocolate rocket toppers mostly saved the presentation, but it likewise sank into the mush of soggy cupcakes. :(

Thank God it was the only thing I thought of doing myself!  Imagine if I had decided to don a clown costume for the entertainment!  (although looking back now, I think I would've done a better job there, lol)

So, just so you know, this is the last time I'm baking.  Or even DIYing anything.  Next time I need something done that's out of my league, enough of the bravado.  I'll go back to hiring good help (aka, power tripping).

Welcome to Hotel Hell...

In times of desperation (in this case, the flash floods that hit the whole nation), you have no right to be choosy.

So when we finally decided to flee from our flood-submerged street, we went for a seedy hotel 30 minutes away from our drowning home. Cars couldn't travel the waist-deep waters so we had to wade through the gunk --uh-huh for 30 minutes --until we reached Heaven Hotel (also known as Creepy Hell on Earth).

 

The first sign that creeped my boys out

(translated:  Don't move the TV and the TV stand or else you'll lose the cable connection)  EGAD!

 

Second sign.  It looked embossed on the ceiling.  Miro claims it's a cross.  I say it looks like a dove.  Then Kenji said it's more like a flying baby. 

...
And we never spoke about it since.

 

Third Sign.  Blood on the bed.  Just pull off the sheets and there are about 3 splotches of these on different points of the bed.  Creeeepy....awooo...

 

Fourth Sign.  Blood on the wall.  Lovin' it so far?

 

Fifth Sign.  THIS!

(ok, ok, it's Kenji under a white sheet.  his motto for this freaky hotel experience:  If You Can't Beat 'Em, Join 'Em.  LMAO!)

But the hotel was dry and that's what we were craving for the past 2 wet days. So Heaven Hotel (lovingly called Hotel Hell) fulfilled its job. And we're happy we found it at such short notice. So...despite the fear you've instilled within our hearts, thanks!

We're home now, and finally all together.  But we'll cherish these bad quality pictures forever.  Yesss...

T-SHIRT HELL!!!!

There must be something wrong with me (hmm, didn't you already know that?  lol!)...BUT I AM SO DIGGING THESE KIDDIE SHIRTS!!!!

For sure, these will be a big hit in preschool (and a big hit on my head as soon as the school director calls for a parent-teacher conference, haha!).  I can just imagine Kenji wearing one of these and looking like the playground animal he is.  Oh, I'd be so proud!  Friggin' proud!

Then again, I am reminded of the gentle, immortal words of my beloved father..."Honey, not everyone understands your humor.  So please, shut up."  

My Girly-Girl Pot Holder: My Ultimate Life Saver

See this?  This happens to be at the top of my Horrid Gifts from Hubby list.  I mean, look at it!  It's baby pink and baby blue with sweet little flowers and shit.  Geez, it's like my husband doesn't even know me. :(  

I like my old pair of green monster hands pot holders better.  He bought me those and I immediately fell in love.  But of course, those beautiful monster hands have been through so many kitchen wars.  They became filthy beyond washing, tattered beyond sewing...well, they just died.  And so this pair of cutesy mitts took their place.

I use them because I have to (how much fashion sense can you wield in a kitchen making mushroom soup anyway?), not because I like them.  But yesterday...I REALLY LOVED THEM!

I was making barbecue and this little meat piece fell into the grill.  Now this isn't just a regular, run-of-the-mill meat piece.  It was my special fatty piece!  So I panicked and reached into the grill before the meat fell into the fire and coals.  It was instinct and stupid reflex.  And wouldn't you know it --my hand was saved by this horrid, cutesy mitt!  Note that the poor thing was singed on the tip of the fingers and the thumb.  And my fingers came out unscathed.  

So ok, I'm loving these pair of pot holders.  For now.

MY NEW SWEET RUSH!

I've always had this immeasurable excitement when planning my boys' birthday parties.  But this time, for Kenji's birthday, I am pushing the envelope!

I AM MAKING THE GODDAMN CAKE!

This was an idea Jing threw at me last night and it got me thinking.  Yes, now I do have the time to learn how to bake.  And shit, man, you know I can decorate like the wind!  

Honestly, whenever I plan my boys' parties, all I do is boss people around.  I get an entertainment outfit do my bidding, I pressure Jing to layout the birthday posters and invites, I get the printing shop to work on high-quality printing gloss chop-chop, I conceptualize a cake and have someone work on it according to my strict directions.  Not that I power trip.  It's just that when I was working, I didn't have the time.  All I had was the concept and the drive to push people around.  Ok, ok...guess I was power tripping.  Give a control freak a break! 

But now is my time to redeem myself by putting an extra effort in the mix.  Bad news for Kenji for being the guinea pig...but I will do my darnest to succeed in this new endeavor.

Whew!  I can just feel the rush flowing through my veins!

This is my cake peg (or cupcake peg.  i'm making cupcakes, teehee).  And I can assure you now...whatever I will make will never amount to anything as good as this.  But by God, I shall try!

Oceanarium Galorium

It was my first time to see an anemone up close.  Really.

 
A few weeks after its grand launch, we had quickly lined up to see Manila Ocean Park.  Not such a good idea since there were still a lot of areas under construction.
But that wasn't about to dampen our spirits, no siree!

The Oceanarium was the most completed area.  And I shit you not when i say the entrance alone took my breath away.  It was a tunnel made out of glass that teemed with activity all around it.  This structure was the main attraction and people ate it all up (not literally, of course)!  Its mammoth surrounding spaces were filled with actual undersea life:  from exotic flora to exotic fauna.  Unfortunately though, it also filled up with people pretty fast.  Some even stayed to sit and chat.  Typical.

Bigness (and thank God, peace!) was the order of the day once you go through the end of the tunnel.  Wall-to-wall fish tanks everywhere!  The spaces in between were massive --but this maybe just because they haven't finished with the other tanks yet.

Now, what I like about each tank is the variety of layouts within.  They didn't just stop at the usual anemones and weeds as fish accompaniment.  There were makeshift sunken ships, treasure troves, discarded scuba suits.  It's really like being in an actual dive site while keeping your freshly blowdried hair dry.

It was obvious that the rays were the stars --possibly by default since they were the ones that were shipped first into this aquatic park.  Almost every tank has them.

There were sharks, too.  Much to Kenji's joy and Miro's dismay.  Lol!

If that doesn't turn you on and you want a more hands-on experience, then there are starfish you can hold and pet.

We were told that jellyfish, sea lions, mermaids, and a host of other attractions were soon to come.  Needless to say, that's good enough reason to come back.  In the meantime --after much excitement-- it was great to end the tour with a relaxing ship-watching session at the dock.

My personal take:  I see big things for Manila Ocean Park.  Big things.  And we can't wait.