Patience in Waiting

          It has been a long weekend and it is the last day of the month. I had to pay some bills in the bank and make some deposits. Since a long weekend had passed, there had been a lot of people having some transactions with the bank and involves long lines in the teller section. In the first bank I transacted wherein I should pay my bills, I arrived twenty minutes from the time the bank opened. My number was 65 and the current number being entertained was 27. I have no choice but to wait or else I could not pay my bills on its due date which will have some charges. So, after hours of waiting I finally been able to pay my bills. After that, I proceeded to another bank to make some deposits. Before I will make some deposits, I must first make some cash withdrawals in the ATM machine. The problem is all ATM machines are not accessible to withdrawals, thank God my mother had some extra cash which I borrowed. Now I have the cash I needed for the deposit, so I must endure again the long lines in the tellers' section. When I am already halfway towards the tellers' section, another employee of the bank opened to receive deposits and entertain my transaction. After hours in the banks, I finally finished the bank transactions that I have to do. I already expected it because of the long weekend that is why I lengthen my patience in waiting. 

Long Hours of No Electricity

     After almost 30 hours or almost one and a half day of waiting, the electricity finally returned. The electricity power provider did not speedily located the source of the power cut-off that there had been long hours of no electricity in our place and in neighboring places as well. Life had been so hard without electricity. We do not have water, we cannot cook food and we cannot do some chores because we don't have electricity. Our water source is very dependent to electricity because it is an electric water pump. Thankfully, my brother-in-law still own a mechanical water pump where we could get water. In terms of food,  the rice cooker and electric stove cannot be used because there is no electricity. What we did is we eat at restaurants or cooked our food on charcoal and had grilled food as viand. When the night came, we open all the windows in our room so that the cool breeze could enter in the absence of the cool air of aircon. Our cellphones also are in low battery and has no signal because the towers of cellphone service providers also needed electricity to transmit the signal. This only showed how hard life is without electricity. I hope there will   be no more long hours of no electricity.

Straight Talk

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Straight Talk. All opinions are 100% mine.

 

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Pop Up Trade Show Displays

     Events, trade shows, job fairs, retails store and anywhere that large display wall is needed usually use pop up trade show displays. It could easily attract potential customers because of the variety of sizes and shapes to choose from out of these pop up displays. You can also add graphics or order a graphic ready wherein you velcro graphics onto the fabric skin of the display. 

      Pop up is much preferred by users because it could easily be transported and no hassle on the set up. The frame of a trade show pop up would open up like a canopy or an accordion. Then you could either hang up a fabric or graphic panels in the frame and you're done. If you want it to be more like a podium stand, you could have a graphic or fabric wrap to surround the case and finish it off by adding a plastic or wooden top.

     If you happen to be in a trade show, you could observe that pop up booths may have same sizes but they will vary in their different looks. It may be because of the fabric used, the graphics displayed or the set up itself. In some events, different pop ups could also be seen that may have backlit pop up which is like a giant light box or a graphic mural pop up that features graphic "skins". The event may also have custom pop ups which are available with internal shelving, back lighting, monitors and dye cut graphics or table top pop ups for those budget conscious users. No matter what pop up displays the users may use, the important thing is it has higher impact and achieve better results.

It Melts My Heart

       This is a sea turtle or "pawikan" that has been injured during a heavy storm and had been found in the shoreline of Lebak, Sultan Kudarat. The owner of the house where we stayed at Lebak took care of this creature. It melts my heart when I saw this creature. It is so adorable. I hope in the coming days, this creature could swim freely.

One.. Two.. Three.. PUSH!!!

        The picture was taken at the shoreline of Lebak, Sultan Kudarat. This shows a typical "bayanihan" at the shores. They were fishermen who were pushing their boat to the shoreline. They had been at sea for a week already and just returned home to their families. They usually stayed fishing at the sea for a month but because of the incoming storm, they returned early. When I was able to witness these scenario, it answers the question on my mind on how did big boats moved to the shores. The fishermen will put logs under the boat and coconut leaves under the logs so that the logs could easily roll on it. Aside from the logs and coconut leaves, it involves a lot pushing by the fishermen. The seawater to the shoreline where the boat must be situated is about ten to fifteen meters. This could not be done by one person alone that is why before they will sell their fishes, fishermen cooperate in pushing their boat to where it must be properly situated. One.. Two.. Three.. PUSH!!!

Longing For Him

       Today is my father's birthday and five days ago was his 22nd death anniversary. My father died when I was about three years old. He died of heart failure because of his high blood pressure which is common in their family. So, I grew up entirely without a father. If there would be no pictures, I will not know his face, his body structure and entirely about him. I don't have memories with him because I'm still too young when I am with him. Still, I am lucky enough to have five brothers who had been with me as I grow up that had been my father figure. Lately, I become to realize how much is missing in my life. I don't know if things are messing up with me that some things I encounter lately is about fathers. It maybe in the Sunday service, in a video clip or in one of the events we attended. I have teary eyes when these things had been the topic. It only made things clear that I am still longing for him. Longing for a father's love which I do not have but that is how life is. I should appreciate the many wonderful things that I have and the things that I don't have. Happy Birthday Papang!.

Congratulations Buddy En-en and Jay-R!!!

           Congratulations to my buddy en-en and to her husband Jay-R. Both of them are my office mates in the previous company where I worked before. They started out as friends and became my buddies everytime I worked overtime. I was really tricked by these two guys because all along I thought it was part of a joke that they would act out as lovers. We always laughed out everytime they act as if they are in a relationship. When there is someone who would ask if they are in a relationship, we will rebut it by saying that they are only pretending. The funny thing is, they are really lovers and that it is not an act all along. I only knew it when I already left the company and after few months they told me that they are already engaged. Well, that is how fast things are and I am happy for both of them. Love really moves in mysterious ways.                           

Cheers to the newlyweds!!! 

Great Help

        Here in the Philippines, we are so lucky enough that we could be able to hire someone who could do our chores. We could hire nannies to take care of our little children. We could hire a helper if we could not be able to clean our house and other chores. If washing of clothes is the only thing you need, you could also hire someone to do it for you. 

        Some of my friends who went abroad, find difficulty in doing chores especially those who are married. When they are still here in the Philippines, almost all their chores are done by someone else but when they migrated abroad they are on their own. Married men were the ones who complain the most because when they are in the foreign country, they are hands-on in taking care of their babies. One friend of ours had been living a comfortable life here in the Philippines with a lot of helpers in their house but when she work abroad, she does nanny jobs, household works and washing of clothes which are the things she doesn't do before. We can't blame them if they want to leave the comfort they have in their own country in exchange for working abroad. They prefer it that way eventhough they are turning their backs from the great help they have here in the Philippines. 

Enjoy the Ride

        Motorcycle is such a great source of fun ride. It is a vehicle that could bring you to different places. The last place we had been with our motorcycle had been in Lebak, Sultan Kudarat. We went there to attend the Men's Rally of the church. It is an activity for married men of the church. I go along with them to visit the place. We rode on motorcycle on going there and it is fun because almost all that went there rode in a motorcycle. Sometimes we chased each other's motorcycle or simply follow them from behind. There are also instances that we have to cross rocky or slimy with mud roads that is prone to accidents. Good thing we had with us motorcycle gear that would protect us from accidents. No matter how careful we are to avoid accidents, some of our colleagues experienced it along the way. We are very grateful that no one was injured. Motorcycle may be a risky ride but it is fun to ride because of the 360 degrees of the view of the places you pass by. Whenever you could have the opportunity to have a motorcycle ride, just relax, put your motorcycle gear and enjoy the ride.

Riders enjoying the view

Accident Along the Way

     Accidents may happen by just a split of a second. By the time you know it, you already lost everything or unluckily you will suffer the injuries for the rest of your life. 

     Car accidents may belong to top ten accidents that may happen everyday. Many lives had been lost due to car accidents. Not only lives had been lost but also properties. That is why car insurance is very important. It may be temporary car insurance or those with specific value insurance. The important thing is there is an insurance that will cover up the damages. It is traumatic to be in an accident and it would be a headache if after that you would still have to face the expenses caused by the accident. With an insurance, if in case an accident may happen you wouldn't worry anything about the expenses that awaits you.

Fully wrecked car to be replaced by car insurance company

       In our last travel, the car we are following which is part of our convoy in our way back to Mindanao had been in an accident.  The car hit a truck in a curve road that the front wheels are wrecked and the passengers' and driver's windows were shattered. Thank God no one was injured and luckily, it was covered up by car insurance. For now, the owner is only waiting for the replacement that the car insurance company will provide.    

Home Details

      There is no place like home. No matter where we are there is no comparison to the comfort and relaxation our place considered as home could provide. After tiresome travel, or even after vacation to nice places we are still looking for our own place, our own bedroom, bathroom and kitchen. That is why as much as possible, we want to give importance on some details of our home. 

        Windows for example should be take into consideration. Big windows are good for ventilation but with it there should be window blinds to filter the light that comes in. Too much light in a room is a sore to the eyes that could give headaches sometimes. Aside from window blinds, curtain is also good to be put on windows. With curtains, you could choose different designs, sizes, colors and cloth to be use. It could serve as a cover up to hide some windows so that it won't look like an empty space. Though this is just a minute detail in our house, it should still be given consideration because it could be a sting to the eyes. It is always nice to go home to a place that gives you comfort and relaxation. 

More Travels

         My husband and I had been traveling for months already and sometimes we stay in our house once a week. We had been to Nabunturan, Lebak, Davao, Manila and the longest travel ever is the road trip from Manila to Cotabato which mostly covered up the whole Philippines. We travel mostly for leisure, family events and for church activities. We travel by motorcycles, cars, airplanes and boats. We had been to different terminals, airports and wharfs. Though some wharfs we had been, may not be as nice as aldermastonwharf but no matter how simple they had been, I love it. It is truly been a blessing to be able to travel safely and to be able to reach different places. It is nice to reach different places and be awed of how beautiful they were. Aside from the scenery, places, transportation, and products, we never forget the people of the places we had been on how gracious they had been to accommodate us. Our only remembrance had been the different pictures taken from the different places we had been and of course the nice experiences we had along the way. As much as possible, we always take pictures of the places we had been. Hope we would still have more travels. 

San Ricardo Port - I love this port!

Still Memories

       Significant events in our lives are precious moments that need to be captured as keepsakes. Weddings, baptism, birthdays, burials and engagements are only some of the events worth remembering. Once in a while we need to document it so that the next generation could have a glimpse of our previous lives. For now, we have a lot of gadgets to choose from to back us up in capturing life's treasured moments. We have cameras, cellphones, ipads and other gadgets that could capture significant events. 

      The oldest and still existing method of capturing precious moments is photography. It started out from black and white pictures, to colored and now we have digital images. Photographs are very much preferred compared to soft copies of pictures today. With photographs, we could be able to have photograph albums or fotoboek maken as keepsakes. Photo albums are kept to show to our children's children, to our relatives and friends what we are before. It is nice to have something that will not change that would show to us our previous images, body sizes, hair styles and clothing. These are the things that will not last long in our minds but with photographs, we have with us still memories. 

Shopping for a Cause

       My brother-in-law who is a pastor in Calinan will be having a feeding program for a selected school in Marilog District and this program is sponsored by Singapore UPC Church. To helped out in this program, my husband, sister-in-law, nephew and niece where tasked to buy the things to be distributed aside from food. 

Food for the kids

       The total population of the kids who will be attending the program is almost seven hundred. Just imagine the number of slippers, notebooks, pencils, ballpen and writing pads that we need to purchase. The first thing we purchased were slippers. We spent so much time on it because of the different sizes that we need to consider. Luckily, we had been able to purchased it with discounts. After we completed all the number and sizes of slippers we need to purchase, we proceeded to GH Office Depot for all the school supplies we needed. Good thing their items have barcode labels and at the same time they have barcode scanner that we don't need to ask the prices from time to time. We also had been able to purchase it with some discounts. Although how tiresome it had been, it doesn't matter because it is more on like shopping for a cause.

Things to be distributed to the children

God's Gift

      "Ask and it shall be given". Indeed, it was given. It all started with a simple conversation, a simple joke. My brother-in-law who is a pastor in Calinan church joked to his brother who is a pastor in Midsayap about his car. He made a deal that if someone will give him a new car, he will give his old car to him. One time my brother-in-law who is the pastor in Midsayap was invited by his co-member in the Voice of Triumph to accompany him in Manila in purchasing a new Ford Everest car. He went to Manila with them for free. When they are already in Manila, another co-member invited him to go into a car shop. There had been a lot of cars to choose, from approved used BMW, Pajero, Ford, Toyota and a lot more. When they are in the car shop, my brother-in-law's co-member told him to choose the car he wanted to have for his evangelization activities and his co-member will pay for it. He told him that since he just recently received his bonus from a deal he had from a Chinese company out of his turbo engine business, he wanted to share the blessings. My brother-in-law was teary-eyed upon hearing this. He can't believe that God's gift would be this huge and expensive, a Pajero.