MMMiii!

I mentioned a couple of days ago that this year was the worst birthday I’ve ever had, but that was just the day itself. The days I spent celebrating it was one of the best, and the highlight of my 3-day birthday celebration was the time I spent at the Wensha Spa in Manila. We only had the Wensha Full Body Massage or whatever you call it but at that time, I thought that everything was so worth it.

We started our Wensha experience by getting naked. Yup–Naked. Inside the jacuzzi/hot water pool, you have to be naked. You can’t wear anything except the bracelet thingie for the locker (which was cool, by the way. It was magnet operated). At first me and my officemates were shy around each other but we didn’t want to miss this experience so we just went along with the flow. After about 10 minutes in the pool, we were walking around naked already.

After the soak, you have a choice of either a sauna or a steam bath. We tried both, but I really couldn’t stand the steam bath. I felt like I couldn’t breathe and I could hardly see a thing as well. I was feeling claustrophobic so I didn’t last long inside that one. In the sauna, it smelled awful so … I wasn’t sure if it was really supposed to smell like burnt wood. Either way, I didn’t stay there long enough either. After an hour and a half in the jacuzzi and sauna and the steam bath, we went back to the lockers to wear our robes and proceeded to the women’s full body massage area.

At first, I thought that we were going to be wearing our robes for the massage, but no. We had to get naked as well. After more than an hour of walking around naked, you kind of lose any shyness or shame so it didn’t really matter anymore. Besides, the room was darkened so they couldn’t really see anything. And they did cover the parts not being worked on with towels. Wensha’s Full Body Massage meant what it says. It’s a full body massage from the top of your head to the tip of your toes, from your back to your front. Imagine the culture shock I got for today. I can only laugh about it right now, but looking back now, I feel a little embarrassed. Oh well.

Next stop was the dining area. I almost lost my ring in the locker and I only noticed it when I went to the dining area already. It was no designer jewelry, but I love my puzzle ring. Good thing I was still able to get it from my robe pocket. Anyway, in the dining area, there’s free eat-all-you-can hotpot buffet (but it’s not really free, since it’s included in the fee you pay for) and I kind of just ended up eating mostly the noodles. I like hotpots. The first time I ever experienced eating hotpot food was that party my Japanese students held for thanking me.

All in all, it was a really nice experience. But a day after that, my body ached. lol. Had to crack a lot of joints. I don’t really know if that’s how it should be, but I enjoyed it anyway. I even want to go back and try the other things they offer like the glass thingie with hot air.

What I just don’t like from Wensha was they didn’t give us a receipt. Sure it was an oversight on our part, but when we asked for a receipt about a day after, they didn’t want to give us one. Their reason? Their receipts have to be in chronological order so they can’t give us one. And since this was a company thing, we needed the receipt.

Any ideas on what we could do? Our team leader said we could get BIR (Bureau of Internal Revenue) or maybe DTI (Department of Trade and Industry). Anyone who’s got an idea for legal action regarding this?

P.S. Wordpress broke and is being stupid. I don’t have time to fix this. -_-

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I went to SM North today after getting my graduation pictures from UP Diliman. I wanted to buy new rubber shoes because it’s been raining lately and the rubber shoes that I use most of the time is not usable when it’s raining. I also wanted to buy a new phone strap.

But I wasn’t able to buy rubber shoes. Nor a phone strap.

I was feeling hungry already when I reached the campus but I figured that I’d have more choices at SM and I felt like pigging out. I went to the Food Court and looked around on what to eat. I saw this new Japanese food stall (of course it’s not authentic), Keisha’s Teppan Cuisine, and the food really looked appetizing. (No, not really. The display was plastic or something.) But what caught my eye was the temaki only for P60 for three pieces. And they were kind of big.

I wanted to eat something else other than the temaki, but I asked the cashier lady if the temaki was actually that big and she said it was. … And it was.

So I had to keep myself from ordering the bento set or the other rice meal sets. The Omurice (Omelette Rice / Rice wrapped in Omelette) looked big in the display as well, but I asked the lady again if it was that big, and she said it wouldn’t be that big because the egg will shrink. OTL … Maa… Since having watched Lunch Queen, I’ve been wanting to eat Omurice even if I knew there wouldn’t be any demiglace sauce or chicken inside the rice. I only noticed after I started waiting for my order that I can have all three kinds of their temaki for the same price, but one each. Durn. Oh well. I’ll be back anyway. I’m sure of it.

I wouldn’t say I was genuinely pleased with the Omurice,

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Last night, I went out with my amigas Lori, Sara, and Sarah. We ate at Cafe Bola for dinner and then at Max Brenner for desserts. I was supposed to go to UnionBank first to make a deposit, but I left the house somewhat late, almost an exact calculation that I’ll reach the bank just in time before it closes. But when I arrived in EDSA, I realized that I had left my cellphone. I left my cellphone inside the refrigerator. I sighed, got off the jeepney and crossed the street. Hailed another jeepney and went home. I’ll make a bank deposit some other time. I can’t meet with my friends without a phone because you never know what comes up.

Going to Makati, I felt lazy walking to GMA station so I took a bus. I planned to get off two stations from GMA but when I was there, I couldn’t get off immediately so I’ll be walking, so I told the conductor that I’ll just get off somewhere else. And I did. And I realized that I was so stupid that I really should’ve taken the train instead. I would’ve saved about half my total fare on my way to the meeting place. Sarah arrived after 7 and we kind of got lost going to Cafe Bola. We had to ask where it was because Lori forgot where it was. When we arrived there, Sara just arrived as well.

At Cafe Bola, I ordered Spicy Green Curry with Carambola

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Who ever said that being on Night Shift is healthy?
Who ever said that being on a different shift every month or every two weeks is healthy?
I don’t think anyone would.

Being on a shifting schedule is unhealthy, yes, but what kind of unhealthiness? Especially if you’re on Night Shift, and your schedule only changes with an 8-hour difference, but still basically at night?

While waiting for UnionBank to open this morning at Starbucks, I was so bored that I read the papers (Yes, OMG! I can read!). I just found out that the country is having a food shortage and that the Ifugao Rice Terraces was selected as a UN treasure or something and that they’re kind of renegotiating our country boundaries for the Kalayaan Group/Spratly Islands, and some other stuff. Well, the only one I really read on was the Ifugao Rice Terraces.

What caught my eye was an article about how being on Night Shift can cause sleep deprivation (no, really?) and the health problems that come with it. What really piqued my interest in the article was how people had a higher risk of obesity when they’re on Night Shift. Because you get more hungry often when you’re on Night Shift and something to do about your metabolism and body clock and what not. I do notice that always, after my shift, I’m so hungry. Like I’m starving. So I grab something to eat sometimes on the way home, and when I arrive home, I’m going to eat again because Mama cooked breakfast to me (I know I could say ‘no,’ but who the hell can say ‘no’ to Filipino breakfast?).

Double breakfast.

I also think feel that I’m getting a tad heavier. *sigh* *starts blaming getting fatter on Night Shift*

But anyways, there were tips on coping with Shift Work.

Coping with shift work

Sleep experts suggest various ways to cope with unusual work and sleep schedules.

• Regular hours: Keep the same sleep schedule on days off from work.
  • No really? It’s past five pm, going on sick six and I’m still awake. Although… I really should be waking up at this time on normal work days. I time myself. I try to sleep by 10am, not later than 11am. I wake up at 4pm, not later than 5pm. That’s on normal days, but today is my day off…
• Strategic napping: Studies show naps of 20 minutes to two hours — either just before a shift or during a shift — can improve alertness and performance at work.
  • Strategy? Like whenever I’m Sleeping at Work? I’m really trying to avoid that now. What I do is if I get done early with bath and dinner, I sleep until 5:30pm or 5:45pm.
• Bright light: Exposure to bright lights during the first half of a shift may help fight fatigue later in the shift.
  • I’m not really sure about this. It’s always usually bright there, so I don’t really know the difference if I started in a dark place or bright one.
• Light restriction: Avoiding bright lights in the morning (such as by wearing sunglasses on the way home and sleeping in a very dark room) can help night-shift workers sleep better during the day.
  • I think my mother noticed that I’m still really having a hard time sleeping in the day even after she put curtains on my windows to kind of reduce the sunlight so I could sleep, so she put on thicker
    curtains. I really love my mother. Now it’s dark … ish…. here, but it’s really a LOT of improvement. I just got hooked up on J-Drama what’s why I’m still awake, not because of the light.
  • I have these neat cheapo shades that I use a lot these days. I bought 2 expensive ones but they weren’t dark enough. One was P200 and the other one was P250. This uber neat shades was just P55. One can usually find the best buy in cheapo places like Dakki or Daisan or whatever you call it, or Uncle Ben’s Store… Ugh, I can’t remember. But it’s UBL sunglasses and I got it in a Japan Home+Dakki+Daisan(?) Store.
    
• Melatonin: Supplements can promote daytime sleep when taken an hour or two before bedtime.
  • Haven’t tried. Probably will not try.
• Modafinil: This medication, brand name Provigil, was approved in 2004 for the treatment of shift-related sleep disorder. Taken just before a shift, it can enhance alertness at night, studies have shown.
  • Haven’t tried. Probably will not try.
• Caffeine: Caffeine has been shown to counteract drops in performance levels at night.
  • I love coffee. Except that coffee hates me. I have hyper-acidity and coffee gives me diarrhea as well. But sometimes, I do feel the need, and sometimes it doesn’t really wake me up, but it’s good anyway.

Sources: Dr. Diane Boivin; American Academy of Sleep Medicine.
c/o Shari Roan, Los Angeles Times

Stolen from … Darn I forgot. I’m not even sure if it’s Manila Times. -_-;; But thank you, one of the local news papers. I do remember the page. It’s on E4.

The ones in italics are just my side comments. Don’t pay too much attention to them.

Anyway, my first thought of this was, “This should be shown to all Call Center Agents. This should be circulated so that we can all stay healthy.” A lot of my teammates have fallen ill and may resign because of health issues. It’s really sad.

So… to all you call center agents out there who are on shifting schedules or always on night shift, make sure that you get enough sleep.

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So… how many months have I been working? At work, I have to wear business casual most of the time (except for weekends), and sure I’ve got some slacks. I’ve got one really nice one, one so so, and another one… well… another one which will have to do most of the time.

I wear the three of them in constant rotation. Sometimes just one of them for the whole week when I need to (My shift is Saturday to Wednesday, so I only wear slacks thrice a week… for this month, that is. and last month).

And well… I guess it doesn’t really matter much since it’s just black, but sometimes I wish I had more than one good slacks. I brought this up with my mother and sure enough, she offered me some classy maternity jeans. I know I’m really big and all… *sigh*

BUT ANYWAY… I’m not really into clothes or fashion or what not. I hardly care about how I look. Heck, sometimes a whole week or two passes before I even comb my nice, long, straight black hair which doesn’t tangle much (I mean, comb with a comb. My fingers do the job most of the time, but that’s not really combing, is it?)

I think I’ll go out and get a new pair of slacks tomorrow. *sigh* I hope I Could find a cheap one. Really. It really depresses me sometimes when I go and buy clothes, and they just don’t fit. I know I should diet or something… so that buying clothes won’t depress me anymore. But…

There are good things in life that are just hard to give up. Like noodles.

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The past few weeks, me and my friend from work have been food tripping. We eat in some places and try out different food just for fun. It’s not much of a weight on my pocket since we only do this about once a week. My biggest problem is my weight. T_T I feel it steadily increasing. Maybe I should bring out the weighing scale again.

It’d be so nice to have home gym equipment, especially now that Iks and Eelai have moved out, there would be space for workout machines and other stuff. But I’m so broke now.

I just got my fridge. I gave mama a lot of money for being bitten by BokBok so she could get her shots, which she skipped anyway =_=, and just yesterday, I bought Taba his anti-flea spray thing because he was heavily infested by these creatures again. I almost cried while giving him a bath because the tips of his ears were already black with all the creatures clinging on him T_T. So I went and bought him the spray I bought last time which was really not cheap at all. So now, I’m broke. Good thing Mama and Papa asked me to load their phone, and they paid me, so now I still have some money again.

It was really a good idea to load P1000 to my phone. Since Mama and Papa just have their phones loaded through AutoLoad, I thought that it’s better if I did that myself. I get 250 free text to last me two months or more, and they pay me instead of some other person. since 250 free text is really enough for me. The catch is, I don’t see any place where P1000 card is being sold, so I load it through ATM or online banking. No discount, but at least I’ve got a lot of free text which is all I need anyways.

*sigh*

Nonetheless. I’m broke.

I wonder if there’s MRT again tonight T_T stupid holidays.

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I went to SM North today to watch The Spiderwick Chronicles. It was a pretty good movie. I was literally on the edge of my seat in some parts of the movie and trying hard not to scream or cheer on the characters. Watch it!

After parting with Sarah and Lori, I bought some groceries. I bought some fruits–honeydew and musk melon–and greens like lettuce and something else. And non-fat milk. and Coke Zero.

and a lot of instant noodles. xD

Kind of defeats the purpose, I know. But I haven’t really had the time to eat the said instant noodles. So it’s alright.

I bought some diet pills from one of my teammates before, and I haven’t taken any of it after the first week and a half. It should be an everyday thing… but I always forget. It’s that fat-burner thingo I don’t know.

BUT AT LEAST!!! I try to eat fruits and vegetables… I eat salad whenever I have the chance. =_=” I’m still getting fatter. *sigh*

Graduation is just around the corner. I already have to start having a dress made. T_T It has to be a Filipiniana dress. Why can’t it be just an ordinary beige/ecru/white dress so I’ll still be able to wear it one day? Why does it have to be a Filipiniana dress I’ll never ever wear ever again? A waste of money. I’m starting to wonder if I should even attend it. Oh welllll… *sigh*

Diet. Diet. Diet.

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I was up yesterday for like 40 hours right, and I woke up 2ish. And sometime around 4, I got hungry. I was about to cook my usual Pancit Canton since I was craving for noodles, and I was rummaging through my assortment of different flavors of those, wondering what I’d want to eat. I have Japanese Ramen, Yakisoba, Local pancit canton (payless), Korean Shin Ramyeun and Chinese chowmein and soup. All of these are instant.

And then I saw my linguini noodles that I bought about a month ago, so I thought, “Hey, I feel like eating noodles.”

So I opened the pack of noodles, got about one-forth of it, and got my instant Creamy Garlic pasta mix.

I filled some water in a pot and sat on one of the bar stools and waited for the water to boil.

I got bored and went back inside since I was getting eaten alive by mosquitoes. I went back to my room and started playing on facebook again then I started thinking that the amount of noodles I’m cooking might not be enough, that someone might come along and taste my 4am-pasta, so I got more noodles. Then I thought that the sauce might not be enough, but I didn’t have any Creamy Garlic so I got the Herb&Garlic mix.

My original plan was to make two separate sauces, but I ended up mixing them. Because I was getting bored and wanted to go inside as soon as possible and the noodles were taking their sweet time to cook.

But it was good. No cheese needed. It was wonderful.

Pop woke up in time to wash my mess XD

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I made Ghetto Tiramisu. Well… it’s not really ghetto, and it’s not really tiramisu. It’s refrigerator cake.

Ingredients:

• 10-20 pcs Broas or Lady Fingers
• All-Purpose Cream
• Sweetened Condensed Milk
• Melted Butter
• Coffee
• Graham Crackers
• Chocolate or Cocoa Powder

Procedure:

1. Mix the Butter, Condensed Milk, All-Purpose Cream, about 1:2:8 respectively (i.e. 1 cup melted butter, 2 cups condensed milk and 8 cups all-purpose cream). Set aside, preferably in the fridge.
2. Make about a cup of coffee. A strong brew is highly recommended, to be made while cooling the butter-milk-cream mixture (BMC).
3. In a container about 1.5 inches deep, lay the graham crackers neatly until it covers or almost covers the whole bottom.
4. Take the BMC out and put some over the graham cracker layer until it is completely covered, about 1/8″ thick.
5. Make a layer of Broas over the BMC. Make sure that it completely covers the BMC layer.
6. Using a spoon or a soup spoon, generously wet the broas with coffee (no need to sweeten or put creamer), but make sure it’s not very soggy.
7. Put a thin layer of BMC over the coffee’d broas and make sure all crooks and crannies are filled.
8. Put another layer of Graham crackers and slightly press it down to make sure there are no air pockets inside.
9. You may repeat steps 4 to 8 if you want, or if you have a deeper container, but one layer is really enough.
10. Spread a thin layer of BMC over the topmost layer of Graham crackers.
11. Dust the top with cocoa powder or chocolate, or even powdered instant coffee would do.
12. Cover the container with cling wrap if it doesn’t have its own cover.
13. Put it in the freezer for at least 8 hours. Put a “Do Not Touch This, It’s Mine -<insert your name here>” Label on it.
14. Eat it out of the container.
15. Do not share.

Meh… anyway, I used fresh ground coffee beans (I used a cute coffee grinder like a capresso and transfered the ground beans straight to the coffeemaker) and I made it really strong. The coffee blended well with the BMC, and although the coffee itself is strong, you can hardly taste it directly from the cake. It’s just like an aftertaste. The broas provides a nice texture, as if it’s really cake.

For the topping, I used chocolate syrup (NesQuik) for one and I think NesQuik powder would’ve been better.

No pictures because I didn’t get to see or eat much of it.

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