I visited a friend’s house the other week and it reminded me of one of my goals this year: to cook more! When I was younger, I used to cook a lot. In fact, I was always with my mom in the kitchen when I was at home and she’s preparing meals. I loved watching her slice the ingredients to a sumptuous dish. And she used to teach me how to cook. I learned a lot from my mom.

Lately though, a couple of years ago to be honest about it, I stopped cooking. There was a period about a year ago that my love for cooking came back and it prompted me to keep reminding myself to cook more. I want to be able to cook for the family and relieve my dad of the duty.

I’ll start next week. Wish me luck!

Jia is heading the team studying the project management software recently acquired by the company. She is newly promoted to the position and is taking her role very seriously. Every one in the office knows how ambitious Jia is and she will not stop until she heads the whole division. Or possible the whole company! At the rate she’s going, it might happen sooner than later.

I have nothing against ambitious persons. In fact, I admire than a lot. As long as they are not stepping on someone in their search for success, then it’s perfectly fine to reach for the stars! But if someone’s already being hurt in the quest for success, then it becomes an evil goal that must be stopped right away.

I miss Makati City. I worked there for half of my ten-year professional career and it is a lovely city where you can find almost anything and everything you are looking for. It has three big malls - SM Makati, Glorietta, and the beautiful Greenbelt malls. The last two are owned and operated by the Ayalas. If you are working in that area of Metro Manila, you have surely been around Ayala Avenue and its underpass. You’ve probably eaten at The Enterprise Towers already. Have been enchanted by the skyscrapers that almost seem like reaching the clouds.

I don’t know if I will be working in Makati City again if I go back to the corporate world. I might. Or I might be working in another city. Who knows. I just feel like telling every one how much I miss the city where I started my professional career.

Tina just asked me to help her look for cheap auto insurance. They are in a tight situation right now. Her mom used up their store’s capital so they were forced to close it down. They have been barely making both ends meet but Tina uses the family car to work so she doesn’t want to give it up. She doesn’t want to drive it around with an expired insurance so she asked my help regarding finding a cheap insurance for it.

And I will help her. I know some people in the insurance industry and I know I can find a cheap auto insurance for her. If not, there’s always the internet to turn to.

I love reality tv. I admit it. I watch a lot of it and I really follow the shows I love season after season. There are too many shows to mention. Somehow, I knew that getting hooked to Survivor would open a lot of other programs to be followed by me and my sisters. All reality shows!

There was a time when I lost interest in watching tv. I would rather spend hours reading my books. There was even a time when I could spend days and even weeks not turning on the tv set. I lost that much interest, yes. But thanks to the arrival of reality tv my interest in watching tv shows returned. There’s too many shows to choose from! Of course, if you have a kid at home, better make sure that the reality show you are watching is for general patronage. Otherwise, wait until the kids fall asleep. Or use the tv set in your room to watch. Most reality tv shows are not for kids. And the news about these shows and their casts…

Have you noticed that majority of celebrities nowadays are products of reality shows? And the media can’t get enough of these celebrities and their antics! I am sure you, too!

My personal favorites are those about families. There’s Little People, Big World, Jon & Kate Plus Eight, and the other shows about families with multiples. I love those shows! Not to mention Project Runway, Survivor, Amazing Race and so much more! The shows make me feel like I am living their lives, and it seems like I know the people in the shows too well.

Are you a reality tv fan like me? If so, what are your favorite shows and who are your favorite reality stars? Let me know and let’s compare commentaries! It’ll be fun!

I am thankful for even the small blessings I receive. There’s actually no small or big blessing for me. It’s all blessings pure and simple. I got back the rank of this blog, albeit the lowest. It’s okay. It is a sign that I am actually doing something good to this blog and it’s paying off.

Now, if only I will get the rank up a notch… that would be really cool!

He gave her a diamond studded watch. We were not so sure about the diamonds when we first saw it. But a friend who’s an expert in diamonds confirmed it. It’s certified diamonds! He is who he claims he is! There’s no doubt about it now.

He doesn’t look like a rich man to us so we judged him right away to be a con. We were wrong and we admit that. We also realized that it’s bad of us to judge him so easily when we only met him thrice. But after spending a weekend with him, we all realized that he’s actually a very pleasant person who comes off as snobbish but is actually shy.

Attending a party would mean being tempted to eat those yummy food being served. It would be no fun at all if you ditch the delicious food and opt for a veggie meal, don’t you think? Don’t worry, after a night of a stomach full of good food, you can take the best diet pills and start losing the unwanted pounds.

Of course it is a bad habit to binge and purge yourself. That will cause you serious harm! But then letting yourself eat more than average from time to time, especially when there’s a special occasion, is alright.

Tam-awan Village is a place where local artists flock. You can watch artists sketch portraits there. You can have your portrait sketched for a fee. Find beautiful nipa huts and local sculptures there as well.

If you are traveling to the north and you find yourself in Baguio City, make sure you drop by Tam-awan and pay homage to our local artists.

I swear this sweltering heat of the sun can be an alternative to the fat burning pills being sold in the market right now. We all sweat buckets during the day, especially in mid-afternoon during the highest peak of the sun. Even after taking a bath, once you turn off the shower, beads of sweat start trickling down your back and forehead. It’s that hot!

For the past few days now, my sisters and I would spend the best part of the day at the mall. Strolling around, watching movies, eating out. Just hanging out. To avoid the heat at home. But we can’t stay there all day long. We still have to go home. And once we step outside the mall, the blast of hot air welcomes you with open arms.

Hot!