The Charmed Spirit

I noticed that tweeting about what makes my morning good has become an unconscious habit.

This is my little contribution to spreading positive vibes to the world. We all need to be reminded sometimes that we can choose to be in a good mood, and the best time to make that choice is every morning before we face all the dramas and challenges in store for the day.

My exam is roughly 3-weeks away, and as much as I would like to delay it because I still have so many topics to review, I also can't wait for it to over. To motivate myself, I've come up with a list of things that I'll do right after my exam. 

1) Travel to Banaue and Bangkok. I'll join Route +63's trip to Batad Rice Terraces, then go to Bangkok (and Phuket, hopefully) with my favorite girls I've gone to Singapore with last year. I've foregone lots of travel opportunities this summer -- Sarangani Bay Festival, Romblon with JVP batchmates, Cebu with Clique, to name some -- so expect me to go all out again starting June. 

2) Read non-finance related books. I've read nothing but CFA books for the past couple of months. My "2012 Books Read" has only one book listed so far. I am so looking forward to grabbing a book that has nothing to do with finance at all.

3) Update my travel blog. Shame on me for buying a domain for my travel blog without regularly updating it. I recently managed to finish the first part of my Sagada entry -- which I started drafting in December by the way -- and I still have A LOT to write about!

4) Catch up on TV series. I haven't watched latest episodes of How I Met Your Mother, and I'm still stuck on Season 1 of Modern Family and Community. Oh, I can't wait to be a couch potato! I haven't had the privilege to become unproductive without feeling guilty since year-end audit started.

5) Hang out with everybody. Movie, KTV, lunch, dinner, coffee, mall, spa, road trip, tugsh tugsh, name all kinds of HOHOL (hang out hang out lang), I'll do it! Well it's not like I've been deprived of these because I still squeeze going out with friends in my schedule as much as I can, but doing so with no study time to sacrifice would be so much different.

There you go. This list should keep me going and pushing for a few more weeks.

Please wish me luck, guys. I badly need it.

Whenever I see a cute kid (or a cute dog), I automatically smile regardless of my mood -- cute being the operative word. Haha. Admit it, there are non-cute/annoying kids (and dogs) too! 


Adorable smiles

GIGIL!!!!! <3

My niece always smiles like this when asked to pose for the camera.


Adorable answers to exam questions

Which body part helps a fish swim? 
My nephew's answer: "Eyes"

Well he has a point. A fish needs to see where it's going! Haha.

Fill in the blank: Nagsalita, Nagsasalita, ___________
My niece's answer: "Mayabang"

Hahaha. Maybe for her, talking too much is equivalent to being arrogant.


Adorable reactions

A kid in Berkeley saw the guard holding some food...

Kid: What's that? 
Guard: (Gave the food to the kid)
Kid: You're giving it to me? Are you serious?
Guard: (Smiled and nodded)
Kid: Yes!! (Walked away)
Kid: (Walked back to the guard) Is this mine now? For real??
Guard: (Nodded)
Kid: For real? Yes!! Thank you! 

This meme came to mind

When someone asks my age, I pause for a while and seriously compute it in my head. I always forget that I'm turning twenty-five real soon. Oh well, I might as well learn to embrace adulthood and all the complications it brings.

Some adult things that I've been doing and thinking about for the past days:

1) Crafting my personal financial statements. I've been OC with my finances ever since I started working. I have an elaborate Excel file where I regularly monitor my cash flow, and I use graphs to review them. It's only now that I thought of using an accounting software to better monitor my wealth net worth. I felt so accomplished last night when I was done inputting my initial journal entries. I will check the trend of my income and expenses for the next couple of months then make a budget projection based on it. It's exciting! I hope I didn't use too many finance/accounting jargons in this paragraph. Haha. If you want me to craft your personal FS and help you monitor your finances, just let me know.

2) Weighing investment options. A few days ago, Enid and I talked about investing in a condominium unit. I immediately contacted my former officemate in DMCI who's now a licensed real estate broker. Last night, we met with her and discussed our options. I may sound biased but DMCI Homes is still my first choice in terms of quality of condo units. If you also want to avail of the real estate services of My Own Space, you may get in touch with Nins Go. I promise you, she knows her stuff. She's been in the real estate industry (project development, specifically) for quite a number of years already. Below are her contact details.

3) Starting an education-focused social enterprise. My friends and I began discussing this last year, but it took a backseat due to different priorities. We're no longer getting any younger, so we really need to take the risk and work towards chasing our dreams. I already asked my friends who share the same passion to research and refine our still-vague concept. It's that time of the year when most of them are in between jobs, so it's perfect for business planning. I'll join in the brainstorming after my exam.  

Stalling major life decisions is so 2000 and late. It's such a pain in the ass to think long-term, but then again, I need to face my "commitment issues" now.

If you're exactly where you want to be, doing what you want to do, then good for you. If not, welcome to the club!

Keeping in touch has always been my weakness. 

I rarely initiate random "wala lang" conversations. If and when I do, it means I really need someone to talk to (whether out of boredom, stress, or sadness) or I miss that person. This is the reason why I have some reservations in meeting up with friends I haven't seen and talked to for a long time -- even people who used to be very close to me.

I'm generally a quiet person. Yes, I may be queen of (sarcastic) side comments and remarks, but that's usually where my talkativeness ends. I don't normally offer stories about my life, unless you ask me specific questions. Or unless you read my blog and follow me on Twitter. I remember before, when someone tells me, "kuwento ka," I automatically respond, "tanong ka muna."

I used to think that maybe I'm not an opinionated person that's why I just listen and let other people talk most of the time. But I realized that I actually am. It's just that I've always been more comfortable writing my thoughts than saying them out loud. I can transform a three-sentence story that I told in person into a three-paragraph blog entry, and vice versa. For instance, when I shared the flat tire incident to friends, I only said in Tagalog, "I got a flat tire. I didn't know what to do, so I stopped at Petron." But see how long my blog entry about it was? 

I also thought I have trust issues that's why I don't share a lot. Yet my life is an open book, again via my blog and Twitter. I'm usually willing to open up depending on the setting and how big the group I'm with is. Chances are, if we've been out on a one-on-one or even three-way date, you've heard me tell more stories than those I've never been on a date with. Being a mere listener is my automatic mode in group conversations, especially if the group consists of talkative people who barely run out of things to say. 

I found myself contemplating about these things when I was feeling lonely and tired from my hectic work-study schedule. The keeping-in-touch problem -- not necessarily with long-lost friends, but with everything -- is more evident now that I don't have much free time. I also feel like I'm getting extra moody and emotional due to exhaustion. I would usually resort to traveling to help keep me sane, but I put all my travels on hold until the end of my exam. 

I am so looking forward to June. One month to go.

My JVP friends (a.k.a. my travel buddies) and I used to talk about putting up a travel social enterprise. We thought of making a business out of our love for traveling, especially in 2010 when out-of-town trips were a monthly thing for us. We discussed it further when we joined a social enterprise competition in the same year, though the food delivery idea won over the travel idea that time.

When I traveled on my own for the first time, I realized that although I'm a frequent traveler, planning itineraries has never been my thing. I am so used to my friends doing all the planning. I book plane tickets and I handle the funds that we use for our common expenses (I'll write about this travel tip on a separate entry), but that's about it. I'm not one to research for must-see places, must-try restaurants, and must-do activities. Sure, I could easily read them from blogs, but I don't know how to strategically tie them together to come up with a nice itinerary.

Ever since that realization, I've given up on my dream of starting a travel social enterprise, unless of course if my role will entirely be finance-related. Maybe I'll just venture into professional travel blogging in the near future. Or producing travel documentaries. Or continue traveling. Period.

So anyway, I am very happy for my officemates who recently established Route +63 Sustainable Travels, Inc., a social enterprise committed to sharing the Philippine experience through travel.   

Visit www.route63.org, like their Facebook page, and follow them on Twitter @route63travels

Join Route +63 as they make their pioneer trip to the majestic Batad Rice Terraces in Banaue on June 8-10, 2012. This is not just any ordinary trip. According to their website, participants will also take part in a stonewalling activity in an effort to restore the damaged portions of the rice terraces. For more details, please click here.

More exciting trips are lined up for the rest of the year, so watch out for updates.

Tara na, byahe tayo!

I exercised almost everyday this week. Swimming on Monday, Thursday, and Saturday, then gym on Tuesday and Friday.

Top-of-the-head benefits of a more active lifestyle for me:

1) I'm forced to drink more water. I used to drink only around 3 glasses a day. Now I can't last long without my handy dandy water bottle.

2) I become more productive. Before, I get sleepy after just a few pages of CFA review, but now I can keep on reading until midnight. Instead of leaving me exhausted and beat, swimming or gym-ing actually gets me going!

3) In a way, it gives balance to my life. Having scheduled workouts is effective in kicking my workaholic butt out of the office. It's ironic that exercising is an extra task that helps me manage my time better.

On Tuesday, Ate Flo (my gym buddy) and I took the cardio martial arts and definitions classes. Boy was I not prepared for the intense workout! First we came in late so we didn't have any warm up when we started kicking and boxing and jumping and stuff. Second I didn't know that definitions involve lifting weights. It was fun, but I think my back was not happy. Lifting two 4-pound dumbbells was not a good idea considering I have scoliosis, and it's my first time after a long time to grab some weights. I hope I get first dibs on the 2-pound dumbbells next time.

On Friday, we took retro and I enjoyed it! The songs and choreography were so gay. Haha. Before the class, I was really tired and not in the mood. So it's great that the instructor was the perfect energizer bunny. Zumba afterwards was a bit boring plus I needed more time to study, so I didn't finish it. I will try zumba with other instructors and precision cycling next week.

I've also tried streetdance and belly dance before, but retro and cardio martial arts are better in terms of workout intensity and the adrenaline rush that comes with it.

Right now, I only use a Gold's Gym voucher with limited visits, but I'm thinking of paying for membership when my voucher expires.

Almost a whole day passed without me playing Draw Something. But since I can't take it off my mind, allow me to share some of my best (in my opinion, okay? Haha) drawings. 

Cherrlysi, my officemate who supports basically everything, said that she supports me in my new-found addiction, especially if it would lessen my workaholism. 

My username is charmieness. Play with me? 

What I did on Wednesday was meet up with Sab, a dear friend who left for the States right after graduation. We recalled some fond college memories, such as shifting out of our courses twice and our  impromptu Tagaytay trip the night before her Theology orals. She's getting married next year! How time flies!

I'm excited to buy new swimming goggles, gym clothes, and rubber shoes, which are necessary for my self-imposed fitness/wellness program. I realized that I would love to learn how to effortlessly swim when we watched this hot guy do graceful laps at Pico de Loro Country Club. Swabe lang eh!

I don't have any regrets. Seriously every time I look back at any point in my life, I do think everything was set to happen. Whatever I did before was what I wanted at those exact moments. But sometimes, I also can't help thinking... what if?

Here's a promise that I would try so hard to keep. I finished a total of 4 readings yesterday and today, which means that so far, I'm on the right track baby I was born this way. 

I've been resisting the urge to create a Draw Something account ever since I heard about it. It's a distraction that I need to avoid, especially now that my exams are getting nearer. However, as I was getting really stressed with work earlier -- while it's supposed to be vacation -- I gave in to the temptation. 

Draw Something is a social drawing game for Apple and Android. It's like the old school Pictionary game where you draw a word, then your friends will have to guess what that word is.

It's so much fun! Now I want a stylus so I can come up with drawings like these (photos from Draw Something's Facebook page):

Or maybe what I need is a magic stylus. Haha. Hey, my drawings may be ugly but I give good clues!

I knew from the very start that succumbing to Draw Something is not a good idea. I spent hours playing (and now I'm even blogging about it) instead of studying. 

Oh well, my username is "charmieness." Let's play!