My friends and I have always enjoyed “rating” and criticizing the style of each other’s houses. Whenever we visit a friend’s house, we share our views and suggest ideas for home improvements (just for fun). We share the common view “simplicity and functionality is in” which is also our criteria for rating.

Our favorite hangout spot is the kitchen as you see we also love to cook and eat. I remembered last month when I renovated my kitchen. They said that they really loved the modern metallic look of the kitchen especially the Grohe faucet. We also tried the indoor grill and it was great! No smoke and less mess. My friends were amazed at it, and gave it a 9 out of 10 rating! Just a tip: always choose function over fashion and value your money’s worth.

While waiting for my PHP classmate Sarah for coffee after work last Friday, I decided to do some window shopping. There have been some major political issues at work and I needed time to de-stress myself before meeting her so that I won’t look haggard during our very rare coffee experience.

Blankly hopping from one store to the next, a giant lavender bean bag pillow caught my eye. I immediately went inside, inquired at the sales lady and found that it’s one of those outdoor pillows that you see in Mediterranean beach clubs. The giant pillow bean bag measures 54 inches by 72 inches - the most comfortable place to curl up, lounge, read, nap, chill or recline almost anywhere! Imagine that!

To cap it off, not only is it an all-weather durable type, it uses polystyrene bead fill which makes it easy to mold into the seating shape of your choice - simply shift and the giant bean bag comfortably shifts with you. Cool huh? ^_^

“Health is wealth”, as they always say. And employees are the company’s greatest asset. This is why companies often have additional medical insurance aside from the government insurance. I was assigned to do research on different insurance companies that offer better benefits than our present one. I emailed several insurance companies to get free insurance quotes. From the quotes I received I was impressed by the benefits that they now offer. Some of these are:

• Waiving of pre-existing conditions
• Inclusion of dermatologic treatments
• Physical therapy and rehab medicine
• Dental services
• Outpatient medical benefits
• Vaccination discounts
• Reimbursement for non-accredited hospitals and clinics

These policies, especially the waiving pf pre-existing conditions, are not usually a part of the regular insurance package. If you are interested on getting a medical insurance, try to ask if they offer these benefits. These policies are a great advantage especially for new members. In a few days I will set a meeting with the insurance company of choice and see if we could settle a deal. Hope these tips help.

The employees had been very fond of the XBox game “Rock Band” so the company set up a gaming room in the office. Work-related stress can really turn the product quality down so playing games in the office (during free time) is permitted. Today we opened the much anticipated gaming room and the management, I included, was of course first to play! All employees took turns in playing and everyone was accommodated. Everyone enjoyed playing and became happier to do their job. I have never seen the company so lively until now.

The CEO was skeptical about the idea at first because he thought that the employees will lose focus in their work but after seeing the employees united and happy about some simple game, the idea was happily welcomed. In any company, it is important to maintain the employees’ high morale so that they could provide quality work. Our company treats employees as our primary asset so we try to keep them happy for our benefit.

Yesterday we had our annual physical checkup for the renewal of our medical benefits. I have never been conscious with my figure before but yesterday’s meeting with the doctor made me mindful of my weight. “You’re statistically overweight” he said. Of course I just laughed and told him that I have been wearing this figure comfortably for years now and it is the first time I am told that I am “overweight”. But it turned out that he was serious, though he told me that I was only 10 lbs over for my 5’7 height.

I was advised to do more exercise since being a dedicated software developer rids you of any physical activity. Lots of fiber enriched food and fruit juices will do the trick, although I still asked for the best diet pills he knew (if things get worse). So now I’m planning to enroll in Yoga class to shed of some weight.

Whether it is temporary or for good, long distance moving can definitely be a pain in the arse. I was in my friend’s new apartment the whole weekend to help her arrange the house. She moved out from her old residence because it was too far from work. The amazing thing was she did the moving out by herself, using her brother’s pickup. I have no idea how she managed to transfer all those stuff out especially the furniture. It was even more exhausting to unpack the things because she patiently wrapped everything in bubble wrap! Even the TV remote was sealed. We called other friends for help but only ended up making more mess. Anyhow, we still managed to arrange the basic things like the kitchen, TV, and furniture. I think she’ll be able to finish unpacking by herself now.

It was my friend JC’s wedding yesterday. I’ve been excited about it to the point that I booked my sister as my hair and makeup stylist since I learned about the proposal last year. My friend and I even helped him arrange the wedding.

Then again, there are some things you really cannot control.

On the day of the wedding, July 11th, my sister went home at 8:30 a.m. and told me to hurry and fix myself up so she can start styling me because she has an appointment at 10 a.m. I was aghast. It will take me an hour to take a bath and at least 10 more minutes to dry my hair!

Furious but left with no choice, I told her I don’t want to get stressed and be pressured into hurrying up; otherwise, I might end up shaving my skin off while having an agitated bath. Not wanting to ruin one of my most awaited days this 2009, with my right fist clenched at my back, I asked her to just go to her appointment and I’ll figure something out. My left hand’s fingers were crossed though, hoping she’ll prioritize me over her appointment.

After taking a bath, still with fingers crossed, I went down, looked for my sister, and found that she DID go to her other appointment. Devastated, I immediately grabbed our car keys and went out of our village to go hunt for a salon. I was lucky because I immediately saw a renowned salon near our village gate, just beside a huge surplus shop. *whew* To cap it off, I ended up looking way more pretty than expected – at a price of course. But then again, it takes pain (and sometimes a lot of dough from your pocket) to be beautiful, especially if you want it instant.

Oh well, there goes my silver lining. ^_^