Musings « Kutitots

Awakening of the hibernating book worm

5 September 2012 • Comments Off

I was around 7 years old when I first learned to read. I wasn’t exactly the quickest learner — my classmates in the first grade were long into reading more complex sentences before I could even string two words together. But my late grandma was patient, she taught me to read diligently. It wasn’t long before I fell in love with reading.

As embarrassing as it is for me to admit, I got addicted to the Francine Pascal’s Sweet Valley series. Love Stories. Nancy Drew. Christopher Pike. A few classics like Tess of the D’Urbervilles, The Little Prince, When Worlds Collide, The Joy Luck Club, Pride and Prejudice, Emma, and my all-time favorite: To Kill a Mockingbird.

I probably amassed quite a collection of books back then, but lost most when we moved. I didn’t read much when I started working (at a call center for 6 months, then eventually to having my own home business), until I got hooked on Harry Potter. I probably bought only a few other books besides that series for the past five years, but the need to keep sane from the all the work deadlines lured me back to reading. I was starting to amass another book collection when my husband Marc finally got fed up seeing my books everywhere, and got me my own book cabinet 🙂 Read more

How’s your spending?

28 April 2012 • Comments Off

Daily Dose

Well, mine sucks.

My husband Marc recently brought me along to a meeting with our accountant who handles the accounting of both our business and personal finances. As it turns out, our business books are ok — although our accountant suggested we should price our services a bit higher. But the personal? Ha. Bottom line, we “seemed” to spend a lot.

The sad thing about it is that we technically don’t. And when I say “technically,” I mean that me and Marc usually just spend on basic needs and utilities with the occasional movie date or two. I don’t spend on clothes (as I’m rarely out of the home office anyway), and Marc, being a typical guy, doesn’t as well. We don’t buy gadgets that we don’t need for work. So why the awful finances?

Two words: CREDIT CARD.

I’m really, really starting to hate those words. Seriously. Read more

For AJ

9 September 2011 • 6 Comments

Daily Dose

I was planning to write a long memorial for my blogger friend, AJ Matela, but I couldn’t. One post just couldn’t do it justice.

Thank you for all the memories, badet. I will never forget you, and how you always gave me stomach gas from all the laughter and bitch moments we shared. I will miss you, but I’m also glad you’re at peace and free of pain. I’m sure you’re now teaching those angels up there how to party, and chasing unicorns so you can finally have one of your own.

From now on, every time I see a rainbow, I’ll think of it as you checking up on us (pwede ba namang mahuli ang badet sa chismax?!). You are now my Rainbow Brite. Farewell, my friend.

** AJ’s family needs assistance. Please visit 1000 Volunteers for AJ to find out how you can help.

Little miracles, everyday heroes

1 March 2011 • Comments Off

Daily Dose

Another hiatus… I didn’t even get to wish you all a happy New Year. Sorry about that. Aside from being perpetually busy, I have a lot in my mind.

Times have changed so much that sometimes I can’t help but wonder if any “traditional Filipino value” is still alive. Being born and raised in the city, it’s hard not to wonder. Just tune in to the evening news and you’ll see what I mean. So many have changed that I’ve learned not to expect much from anybody anymore.

I’ve always wanted to believe the best in people, giving them the benefit of the doubt… But unfortunately, there really are those who would take advantage of that. There are also very few people I know who’d do things for others just because they wanted to help, not asking for anything in return.

We’re in trying times, that’s true, and I fully understand that people are just looking out for their selves. But sometimes, we still hear reports of regular people turned heroes — people who placed another person’s welfare above his own. Little miracles like that gives hope — that maybe, it’s not so bad to still believe in the best of people.

I’d like to start off 2011 in this blog with two of my own stories to tell, of the heroes I’ve met in just a span of two months. Read more

Web design “cross-training”

29 October 2010 • 1 Comment

Daily Dose Tech Things

For the past month, client projects and training for my first marathon have been keeping me busy. These have been preoccupying me so much that I can’t help but use one as analogy for the other 😛

So what’s “cross-training?” Wikipedia defines it as:

Cross-training (also known as conditioning) refers to training in different ways to improve overall performance. It takes advantage of the particular effectiveness of each training method, while at the same time attempting to neglect the shortcomings of that method by combining it with other methods that address its weaknesses.

According to coaches assisting me as part of the marathon program I’m in… Whenever you run, you basically exercise a specific muscle group. To avoid injury, burnout, and train strategically, it’s recommended to give that muscle group time to rest. But instead of lying around doing nothing, it’s best to exercise muscle groups that aren’t used in running. Like rowing perhaps. Or swimming, for those who can (definitely not me, I can’t swim :P).

So what does this have to do with my job? Read more

Another year, another me

8 October 2010 • 1 Comment

Daily Dose

I turn 29 today, leaving me with one more year to enjoy my “twenteen” years. It’s not so bad, really. I’m actually glad I survived long enough to see my 29th birthday. I’m not sick or anything, but my family and I have been through so much already that I can’t help but believe that every day I’m alive is a blessing — life is something to enjoy and be grateful for. I’m not exactly psyched about seeing a gray hair or two more often than I had in my early twenties, but I haven’t reached the point of needing to dye my hair totally black (except maybe to cover up hair highlights when I had my passport renewed)… not yet anyway 😛

Being so near my 30th year, I cannot help but think back to things I’ve done, and haven’t. When I was younger, my mom said I was a little girl with big dreams. I can’t remember exactly when I made it (probably sometime during my emo-teenage years, but I had this short mental list of “10 things to do before I turn 30.” With only a year left, it’s quite interesting to see if I’ve somehow managed to do some of those things in my list. Read more

“Just because” surprises

19 May 2010 • 12 Comments

Daily Dose Tech Things

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. Read more

Earth Hour 2010

27 March 2010 • 1 Comment

Daily Dose

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 😛

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.

Justice for Maguindanao mass murder victims

7 December 2009 • 1 Comment

Daily Dose

… 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.

Remembering October

2 December 2009 • 6 Comments

Daily Dose

For the first time since the last week of September, Iâ€™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. â€œBeen busyâ€ is an understatement. You see, client projects and volunteer work werenâ€™t the only ones that kept me on my toes for more than a month. If that was only the case, I donâ€™t think Iâ€™d lose the drive to blog or struggle with my designs. Iâ€™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, itâ€™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). Read more

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