A year since Ondoy

Its been a year and one day since that fateful day when Ondoy struck hard and changed lives of millions.  Us included.  As I look back to the year that was, its more so that I feel blessed for all the experiences, hardships, and gifts of love for the past year.
I've just stopped from work last July 2009 so when Ondoy happened, I was staying at home and was able to clean and put back what Ondoy destroyed.  Despite being one of the thousands flooded that day, all I felt after the flood was through and the electricity was up and we could look at the news, was to thank God for sparing our lives, and while we had to throw so many stuff away and it took us a month to put life back to normal, a lot had it worse, suffering the loss of loved ones, homes, cars, and livelihood.  All our appliances worked after Ondoy. Our car, although it was wet and a bit flooded, survived without any major problems and there was no need to bring it to an auto shop for repairs. We received a lot of help from family and neighbors and friends, and no one got sick because of the flood waters.  It was an experience we won't forget but rather than to feel remorse or abandoned, I feel blessed that whatever damage was brought about by Ondoy, we were able to move on.
A month after I had my first stint at business and I'd say it did well.  Now even as I do it part-time I know it will work and I know some people already trust me to become repeat customers.  I will still work on the bazaars despite working full time.  That I know for sure.
I let our 1st househelp go last December.  I was seeing things that I felt were not good for my daughter and didn't like the way she was acting up.  While I was tired at night having to bring a toddler everywhere, I was thankful that I could spend time with her, while a lot of moms having full time jobs don't get as much chance.  I spent 3 months as full time nanny and wife before the blessing of another househelp, twice as good as the first, came.  I still consider her as one of my blessings.
Starting January I actively started looking for work again.  It was hard in that I was looking at getting into a senior/mid-manager position but a lot that was coming in was more of supervisory posts.  But I tried anyway. I got some offers but they were far below expectations.  And I was finding it harder and harder to balance the home budget.  I was never a big spender but I wanted to have the liberty to go out with family and spend some for them.  And I felt guilty that all the earnings of hubby went to the family.  I always did let him have the things he wanted, spend for his hobbies.  But he stepped up and offered to give everything and just leave some allowance for him. He was even the one to tell me to reject the offers that came that were too low.  He felt I deserved better.
The job offer I was waiting for finally came in June.  It was near our home and the pay is good.  The position was what I was waiting for too.  Its a good company and I enjoy what I do.  Now, three months into this career and there are no regrets.  We get to enjoy some family eat-outs and I can splurge a little when I want to.  Life is good.
So the past year was one great roller coaster ride.  But it brought me closer to family, and while it was the hardest we have had so far as a family, it made us realize priorities and made us want to plan more for the future.  Now life is back on track and while I find myself so busy at times, balancing work, business, some more outside work, family, and friends.  Sometimes I feel I don't even have time to spend for myself.  I'm in dire need of a haircut, a massage and waxing.  But I go to sleep at night and always, always feel thankful for all the blessings we've received.
Sometimes it takes challenges for us to be wiser and stronger. And for me the past year was exactly what I needed. :-)

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long due postings

whew!!! been able to blog after the longest, and I mean the longest time. Its so sad I don't even get to post as much as I want nowadays. Understandable though. Jessica's yaya is on vacation, we have moved, and in between there are a whole lot of stuff we attended to in the past few weekends. Now that we've moved though, I understand there might be quite a few events to come my way, so I can have my much needed rest. Hmmm... I still owe the suppliers' ratings for Jessica's first bday and the details of the BIG MOVE, but that can wait. Anyhow, Cathy's wedding is coming up and I'd also have to prepare for that. Another whew. Another thing to do. I would have to buy me sexy shoes next week when I get back to work. Sexy silver shoes, that is. That's because that's what would match my dress for Cathy's wedding. Hay.

will post some more soon!

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The Pantry

We worked our asses off this weekend. It's not completely done yet (the doors still need to be painted and attached), but we went from here:

to here:
It involved moving the entire contents of the pantry, painting the pantry, painting the old kitchen wall cabinets, installing them, building some shelves to fit the corner (out of the old shelves) and moving everything back in. We'll have to live with it for a while and fine tune the placement of everything, but I think we gained significant storage space.

It looks great in there. It's the same color green as the kitchen (amazingly difficult to photograph; it looks completely different in different lights). As an amusing side note, we found a date stamped on the back of one of the cabinets: January 13th, 1981. We installed these cabinets in their new location 27 years to the day after they were built.

Santa Barbara, Nexus of Delight

It's heartbreaking. Every time I've been there, it has been idyllic. The bar is raised to impossible heights, but each visit to Santa Barbara is ludicrously pleasant. This time had some perversely nice twists. First, I was simply accompanying my wife on her business trip, so the expenses were considerably less than if we had simply gone there of our own volition. Next, the weather was flawless. Not just "Oh, Gee, it's nice, considering it's January," but nice enough to compare with anywhere, any time of year. Lindz attended a multi-day business conference replete with presentations and lectures; I wandered around. I took pictures, drank beer, wrote in my journal and plowed through The DaVinci Code. During our stay in Santa Barbara, my harshest dose of reality was the need to purchase band-aids for my blisters (I had been walking in sandals all day, each day). Hellish. Absolutely hellish. For starters, here's the view from our hotel room that greeted me at sunrise our first day (I would have missed it were it not for the three hour time difference):

And I wandered.


Pelicans on Stearns Wharf are unafraid of humans; I was able to get close:

A slice of sky from underneath the 101 overpass at State Street:

A sidewalk in the afternoon:

I don't know the exact age of this edifice, and the picture does not quite do justice to the fine stonework. Perhaps my brother will drive up there and photograph it properly:

Fulfilling my duty as a spouse, I attended each evening's social events with Lindz, and we chatted with political/commerce-minded folk from around the country. That was pretty much my only requirement during the trip, which served to prevent me from wandering too far or getting too drunk. All things considered, I'm quite the lucky son of a bitch.
Lindz's conference concluded, and we headed into the hills for some wine tasting. We pulled off from route 154:


Here are some backlit cows grazing near Sanford Winery, of Sideways fame:
Incidentally, this place is my favorite. The wine is superlative. They make a lovely, seductively complex Sauvignon Blanc, and their Pinot Noirs are of peerless stature. We brought back a bottle of the Pinot Noir 2001 La Rinconada Vineyard. It's the shit. Rich, deeply extracted fruit with licorice, mineral and spice notes. Probably the best pinot I've had the luck to drink, and I've had some good Pinot. It's a bigger wine than many Cabernets. The place is unassuming and quaint:

We started south for Los Angeles (we got a hotel room near LAX because our flight departed early the next morning). The sun disappeared behind one of the Channel Islands, and Lindz snapped a picture while we were driving:

We were in a daze; the drive had been so beautiful. We drove through fine Santa Barbara County scenery during photographers' fabled "Magic Hour."
After that, via Ventura and Thousand Oaks, we gradually descended into the ordeal of traffic that is the hallmark of that hateful tumor of a city, Los Angeles. What potent mixture of drugs allow Angelinos to maintain the will to live? I'd likely put a shotgun in my mouth if I lived in that Disneyland Trashcan. Lindz was kind enough to put up with me as I swore at the traffic. What can I say? It was an infuriating and confusing undertaking just to fill up on gas on Sunset Boulevard, and two hours earlier, we were sipping great wine in Buelton.

Like photography, life is meaningless without contrast.