I was so tired then so I just sat on the porch and slept. After a few minutes I heard someone calling me. It was my neighbors Mat and Ellie. They also came home late and noticed that I was lying wasted on my porch. They help me (literally) break into my apartment. Finally, I got my good night’s sleep.

Of course, I was not able to report to work today because I was too tired to get up. I think I’ll just go to the mall and watch a movie to rid myself of the stress AND to look for good door knobs for my door. For now I’ll just enjoy the cool morning and the warm bed. Ahhh…. this is the life…

And don’t forget online shopping. Whether you are looking for any-occasion party dresses,
prom dresses, and even gowns, you are sure to find what you want online. With the advent

of social networking, there are many more ways to buy online at affordable prices. Just
look at your networks in Facebook – who knows? One of your friends might even be selling
clothes! Also, there are fan and group pages of clothes. Just type in your desired keywords
and let the fan pages appear. Browse and buy to your heart’s content. You might even be
able to haggle prices!

As I remember, the story goes this way – there was a farmer who heard of other people
finding diamonds in lands afar and getting rich as a result. So, upon the advice of others,
the farmer sold his land and set off to travel and dig for diamonds in other lands. For years
and years he traveled and dug, but could not find any. Finally, he died without seeing a
single diamonds in his lifetime.

Years after that farmer’s death, the land that farmer bought came into the possession
of a young man. That young man explored his newly-bought farmland and was puzzled
to see something glistening among the soil and rocks. Upon taking a closer look, the
young man was surprised to find diamonds! And there were dozens and dozens of them!

So the farmer, ironically, sold the very land where diamonds lay waiting to be discovered, in
order to find diamonds in faraway lands.

Are there diamonds in your own backyard that you are not aware of?

You see, it’s been months now since I have had a regular physical activity. Normally, I either have a sports or any type of recreation to keep myself physically fit. However, I just haven’t had the time, money, and activity to go with my current lifestyle. It wasn’t until I got sick for two weeks straight just recently that I started putting more effort into looking for something to stop my deteriorating health.

Then I remembered my friend telling me that there’s a one year membership fee in the hotel near my office wherein one of the member benefits includes free pool usage. I did recall though that the price is quite hefty. But at my desperate state, with a credit card in hand, and considering that there are comfy outdoor cushions just beside the pool where I can lounge with my friends or after a stressful day at work, I was already 75% okay with the idea.

I inquired last July 30 at the hotel and, to my surprise; the one year membership fee was three times less than what I originally thought! I immediately signed up of course. To cap it off, I can have my sister as a supplementary! So we both get to enjoy free pool usage for a year (including all the other member benefits of course – 33% meal discounts, 20% off room rates, the works ).

Can’t wait to swim and start getting back in shape! ^_^

We talk about the most amazing things during breakfast, and I sure do learn a lot from her. She gives just the best advice for anything.

In exchange for her sound advice, I usually give her good songs to listen to, as I have a wide collection of those and I know which ones are good for a certain mood and feel.

Like what the old saying goes, it’s better to learn from the experience (or mistakes) of others, rather than to commit them your own.

I’d like to disagree though, some of us wouldn’t ever really learn until we experience it ourselves. Being so thick headed is quite normal, as we are human, after all.

I think this is a wise move by our company to make the processes more efficient. I used to work in a big company that did not use any document management system and I could say that everything was a mess. We used to store our files on a network file server however each user had his own folder. Obviously, documents were cluttered and redundant.

Document management systems allow users on and offshore to work on the same documents and merge them in an organized way. Files are also consolidated in a secure manner, making your data less prone to hackers.

I was stumped.

You see, I consider birthdays as a day where you get to be the Prince or Princess – and everyone treats you like one. That is, you can get away with everything and anything, and just because it is YOUR day after all. And I like pampering my Nth level friends like that. For me, it’s also a day where you can legally smother them with your affection without them saying, “It’s too much!” Frankly, they deserve more than what I can come up with during their birthdays. Much, much more.

So for this year, to celebrate my friend’s Birthmonth, given the “no gifts” instructions, I decided to do small things in an extraordinary or special way for my friend. Like last Tuesday, after dinner, I treated my friend to a savory yogurt dessert we both haven’t tried and surprised my friend with a pink stress ball. The next day, Wednesday, I dropped by my friend’s office to deliver a slice of luscious cake.

The month’s almost ending though. I wonder what unique gifts I will still come up with…

• Foods rich in Vitamin C. Yes, your good old orange – the real one, not the orange juice in tetra packs – can help burn fat. Vitamin C improves the body’s capacity to burn fat and helps in processing fat as well. So, eat your oranges and other fruits and vegetables rich in Vitamin C like tomatoes and bell peppers.
• Dairy products low in fat. It’s the calcium in the dairy products that does it, according to studies. So drink milk and eat cheese with no worries – just don’t eat too much.
• Spicy foods, especially ones containing pepper, can speed up your metabolism and help burn more calories.

Usually people settle for only either diet or exercise. But losing abdominal fat means doing both. And it will definitely speed up the process.

For your exercise routine, 15 to 20 minutes is usually enough, but 30 minutes makes the fat-burning process faster. Just don’t attempt 30 minutes on your first try if you haven’t been exercising in a long time. Give your body time to adjust.

A diet high in fiber, particularly from fruits and vegetables as well as whole grains, can help you feel full and cleanses your body of toxins. Remember also to drink plenty of water.

These are just some basic tips in losing abdominal fat.

I know most of us don’t really want to face death, but it’s something we all know we can’t evade and that we have to go through.

Sometimes imagining the worst case scenario often helps. You might end up getting a nervous breakdown if you get surprised with what happened because you didn’t prepare for it. It’s always safer to prepare for the worst than to expect the best and get disappointed later on.

I guess I’m paranoid because I am currently afraid of losing my parents. Just the thought of losing them entirely breaks my heart. I do everything I can to be preoccupied and to keep my mind off them, but I just couldn’t stop worrying, so I applied for a term insurance.

I know the thought of losing them still hasn’t left my mind entirely but at least I don’t worry so much anymore.