That’s what my husband usually hears from me as soon as we get into the car. He’d usually roll his eyes at me, but knew better than to argue. I’m a really, really insufferable nag when it comes to car safety. The car seat belt is my best friend. But then again, it would be yours too had it once saved you from going through the wind shield.

Wearing seat belts didn’t used to be an implemented law here, if you guys can recall. I remember parts of my childhood when cars didn’t come outfitted with the compulsory seat belt. It was actually a “special feature” that had additional cost. Some time later (I can’t remember if it was during my elementary or high school years), the government started having this campaign on using seat belts because of the rise in vehicular accidents.

I had to admit I was one of those who grudgingly followed that law. And if I could get away with it, I wouldn’t have fastened my seat belt. After being so used to sitting without one, the seat belt felt so constricting. I couldn’t move around as I used to. My dad, being the safety freak he is, gave me long, boring sermons on road safety just to get me wear one. I didn’t like spending the trip going to school listening to my dad’s monologue, so I just obliged. But that changed… Obviously :P Continue reading this entry…

Really, I’m not the type of person you’d call “vain.” I don’t wear the latest fashions (frankly, I don’t even have an idea what they are). I usually choose clothes for comfort and practicality. But if you do catch me wearing a girly blouse or dress, you can expect I bought it for its design or print pattern. I don’t wear make-up — I’m allergic, and I don’t want to trouble myself looking for cosmetics that won’t make my eyes tear up or my lips bloat like fish lips. Yes, I’m still a woman, in case you’re wondering. :P

If there’s one thing I am quite vain about, it’s how I smell whenever I go out. Emphasis on “go out.” :D Continue reading this entry…

Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for female independence, but I’ll be lying if I say I don’t like romantic surprises. My husband Marc is as busy as I am. We run a home-based business, but he’s out meeting clients and client prospects almost on a daily basis. My job involves staying in front of the computer all day, I don’t really get to go out much except for my daily one-hour runs and bike rides. Sometimes I feel the need to set an appointment so we could find time together during work week, Saturdays and Sundays being the only “blocked off” days for our couple time :(

I’m not complaining (well, not much, anyway), as this indicates that our home business is doing better. But still… I can’t help but long for the hours when we got to spend a lot of time during the day at home together, and the lunch or dinner dates of “just because” occasions. I am a woman, you know. I may be very practical (sometimes even to the extent of being called “totally un-romantic” by my friends), but sometimes it’s hard not to be lonely here at home even with our hyperactive Shih Tzus running about. Work stress, topped with occasional bouts of loneliness, hasn’t really been good to my temper during the past few weeks.

Our friends can attest to this: my husband is as practical as I am… and probably even more “un-romantic.” :p Just think of it this way… I got Facebook flowers instead of real ones for Valentines’ Day, because, as he said, “it’s the thought that counts!” But he does leave me surprises (like tangible surprises) every now and then — that’s my Marc for you, he can be quite unpredictable. I was feeling cranky last Monday, so many things to do and Marc had to ask me to be the one to feed the dogs their dinner. Imagine my excitement when I saw that little black box lying innocently on top of the dogs’ food container.

Jewelry? No, it’s not what you think. Continue reading this entry…

With all the running-related posts I’ve been yakking about, I know I should eventually start a running blog that people who are actually interested will read and appreciate. But wait! This run is special… Well, for me at least!

Last Sunday at the SM Mall of Asia, my husband Marc and I ran for a cause that we truly believed in: The National Geographic Earth Day Run 2010. The price tag per distance category is quite steep (more expensive than the other races we’ve ran), but it’s NatGeo! What can I say? I’m a NatGeo fan girl! :D Continue reading this entry…

I just spent Earth Hour all alone — in the dark. My parents and my sister left to join the Earth Hour celebrations at SM Mall of Asia, while my husband spent the time playing volleyball with the Mizuno Volleyball Club. So it was just me and the dogs here at home. Alone. In the dark :P

But it wasn’t so bad. Really.

It honestly feels good being able to contribute in saving energy resources — even if it was just for an hour. I guess I stretched the statement a bit and turned off more than just the lights — I unplugged even the electric fans and computer equipment. I’m home all alone, so no one complained. I’m all sweaty with a brand-new bruise on my knee (I didn’t see the chair blocking my way to the front yard), but I feel great being able to take part in the Earth Hour cause.

Maybe it made a difference, maybe it didn’t. Maybe we’d still run out of resources no matter how much we try to save. Maybe I’m just too optimistic. But hey, nothing’s wrong with hoping. And yes, some effort is better than none at all.

Nope, I haven’t forgotten this blog yet. If ever, I think I’ve taken the much-needed blog hiatus. Because frankly, my posts in this blog last year were depressing me. Some might call it “maturity,” but really, I don’t want to grow into a bitter old lady :P Anyway, I have a list of New Year’s resolutions on hand, but I don’t want to bore you with them. It’s more fun letting you all figure it out as I go along :D

My finishers’ medal! 5km run at the 2010 Condura Run for the Dolphins

Moving on… I’m proud to say that I started 2010 with a healthy progress: I finished 5km for the first time ever, and that’s without using my inhaler! Not even once :) Continue reading this entry…

… And we thought we saw the last with Hitler.

I still can’t find the words to say about this. It’s been more than a week since the news broke out, but I’m still in a bit of a shock. The mass murder in Maguindanao was just so horrible, so inhumane. It’s incredible that those who committed the crime felt they were powerful enough to get away with it. Frankly, I wouldn’t be surprised if they did. Such a negative thought, I know. But with our screwed up justice system, it’s something you come to expect.

Let’s hope for the best; hope that the victims and their families receive justice they deserve.

For the first time since the last week of September, I’m finally able to find some time off to blog. As you may have noticed, most (if not all) of my blogs are on hiatus. “Been busy” is an understatement. You see, client projects and volunteer work weren’t the only ones that kept me on my toes for more than a month. If that was only the case, I don’t think I’d lose the drive to blog or struggle with my designs. I’ve been used to that kind of pressure (how many times have you heard me complain about the buttload of things I needed to do?).

This time, it’s different. Because this time, my family and I also needed to pick up the pieces and move on from a tragedy brought about by the destructive side of Mother Nature: Typhoon Ondoy (Ketsana). Continue reading this entry…

IMG_3198, originally uploaded by kutitots.

Pardon the awful formatting, I’m blogging through Flickr. My dad have just turned off our circuit breaker, I’m just using PLDT WeRoam on my netbook. It’s very slow, especially at this awful weather, but it’s allowing me to connect and upload some photos at least.

I don’t normally blog immediately about calamities like this, but this flood is the worst I’ve ever experienced in my lifetime. I’ve lived along Katipunan Avenue in Blue Ridge since the day I was born, so I never really experienced flooding (Blue Ridge is pretty high up, it’s on top of a hill). First time ever for my family — flood reached inside our home.

You can see more photos I took on my Flickr Photostream. Watermarks are pretty crudely done, sorry for that. It’s not easy to work with diminishing power on a small netbook. I’ll probably edit this post and fix the formatting when everything settles.

Stay safe guys!

As promised, here’s my presentation in PDF format for your reference! I also gave a copy to the WordCamp PH crew, so they’ll be have the file ready for download from their site soon too :) This is the first time I’ve used scribd.com for document sharing, so bear with me — I don’t know how to make the file downloadable yet :D

Anyway, here’s the presentation in PDF. Unfortunately, it doesn’t have the “magical” effects I used during the actual presentation but the info you’ll need are all there :)

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