Succumbing to wants

Last Saturday, I spent a little over 500 in the mall for lunch at Almon Marina and a movie (Angels & Demons).

This week, I spent close to 1,000.  That’s about 450 on a nice, satiny red shirt (work appropriate), over 200 on lunch and 260 on three books.

I wanted to watch another movie but found nothing appealing.  I might watch Drag Me to Hell next week, though.  Is it any good?

One of the books  bought was Confessions of a Food Addict.  I fought the urge to buy it last week but when it revealed itself to me again, I proved too weak.  Now, I am reading it alternately with The Rector’s Wife.  I like that my love for reading is manifesting itself again.

Looking forward to a low key Sunday tomorrow, or maybe not, if gym buddy invites me to watch a free mini-concert in a mall near our places.

I need to spend money

I can fill a decent-sized sheet of paper with stuff that I need and want, complete with estimated prices.  Thing is, I am still battling with myself if I should divert my hard-earned funds towards stuff that I know will not generate cash for me and will eventually clutter our small house.

Gym shoes.  What I currently use is a pair of Nike bought at 50% about 3 years ago.  It was designed for trekking, but used it for casual weekends and trips to the mall.  Now, I use it to the gym and the sides of the sole are beginning to unstick, making it look like it’s smiling.

Work slacks and shirts.  With my promotion, I think I need to dress the part a bit.

Work shoes/flats.  Same as above.

Work bags.  I only have a huge, unstructured bag that I use everyday, and it doubles as gym bag.

Karaoke night.  My friends are a-wanting a treat due to my promotion.  I do have the funds but I’m still looking for a venue where we can let our hair down for hours.  Gym buddy has offered his house.  We’ll see about that.

Those are my needs.  Now for what I want…

Digital camera.  I only borrow my sister’s Sony Cybershot whenever there is an important occassion with friends, but I want a camera that I can lug around even on ordinary days without worrying if my sister will need it.

iPod.  Recently my sister asked if I will take her 80gb iPod for 4K payable in 2 months.  She wants to buy a 160gb one.  I refused though I do want it.  I took into consideration my recurring ear infection and my pining for a camera.

Camera tripod.  Even if I don’t have my own cam yet, I can use it with my sister’s.  It’s pretty hard to get everyone in a picture without one, unless there’s always flat surface where I can put and set the cam.  Or a kindly passerby who won’t run with it.

I need the money fairy now.

I’m starting to be normal…

my weight, that is.

Last week, I stepped on the scale provided by the gym and was surprised to watch it tip 105 lbs.  Come Thursday, I was even more surprised to see it at 108!  Wow!  3 lbs in a span of few days.

This recent development puts me 4 lbs away from my ideal weight which is 112 lbs.  The gym sessions helped a lot:  my appetite is up (way up!), my bowel movement is regular, no more monthly cramps, no more nightly leg cramps, I sleep better and on time, and my body shape has improved.  I am getting alot of complements regarding the certain ‘glow’ now that I have more flesh on.

I guess you will all agree with me that the P1,250 monthly fee is worth it, right? =)

Accomplishing goals

It’s confirmed.  I am now the Assistant Manager for the group that I am in.

I had no idea this was coming.  Our manager did not discuss the performance evaluation and left us with no clue as to where we stood.

The next guy is now Supervisor.  Next year he will be due for promotion as the Senior Supervisor, taking my former job title.

What’s more surprising is the salary increase we received.  A whopping 20% on base pay and allowance was given to us, against the former ceiling of 10% yearly.  I am most excited with the increase in allowance which acted as a tax shield. 

I felt bad for gym buddy, though.  Although I know he got a 20% or higher salary increase, he should have been promoted to Asst. Manager as well.  He’s much better than me when it comes to work, and that’s not lip service.  His manager is now a Senior Manager, and he’s next in line.  He’s been a Supervisor for almost 2 years now. 

It’s fun to see your goals written down…but it’s a lot better to see them materialize!

Back from the OB

Alright, I’m still alive. 

The OB who I saw early this morning was not actually the one who did the TR ultrasound.  She’s from MD Eastwood, and had put me at ease the minute she called my name.  She’s very chatty but not annoying.  She immediately guessed where my province is via my family name.  Anyway, she gave me a request for TR ultrasound at The Medical City since their sonologists are ‘better’.

On to The Medical City.  I had trouble putting on the lab gown; my heart was beating fast.  I am jittery around hospitals and I try to avoid going in one as much as I can.  The only time I went to one is to visit a dear friend.

The doctor who performed the procedure was a guy/gay while the one who viewed the scan was a girl.  They were accomodating, put me at ease.  They had to laugh when I made the sign of the cross.  I was nervous!

I felt a bit of discomfort during the procedure, but very tolerable.  Maybe it was more of the embarrasment more than the physical thing.  The doctors said I’ll have the result in 2 hours, so I went and spent it in Starbucks.  Bought caramel frap and a cake for P230, a lot cheaper than if I decided to while away the time at a nearby mall.  But then, a frap and cake doesn’t exactly make a good lunch…

Results came and though it is yet to be interpreted by the OB from Eastwood, I think nothing is amiss.  Hopefully…

Sold some stuff…

I had this pink Vans Off the Wall shoes that I’ve been trying to sell for several months now through ebay.  Finally, some girl took interest and paid for it instantly.

It’s pink, but if you look closely it is printed with tiny white skulls and crossbones.   Bought it in 2004, wore it once and shelved it.  It was too big…size 9.5 when I am only a 6 (5 in Chuck Taylors…).  I can’t even remember why I bought it in the first place.  The girl who bought it is an 8, but said she’ll manage by wearing really thick socks.  Crazy.

Another girl paid for an old copy of Wuthering Heights.  I am staring at the book now and can’t help but think if I am ripping her off.  The book is really old, used and abused by me.  Read at least three times (I am a Bronte fan).  Anyway, the girl paid for the shipping which is almost double the list price of the book.  Add a few more bucks and she can get a brand new copy at a bookstore.

Some crazy things we do.

Going herbal

I am being pestered by cough for almost three weeks now.  I’ve been taking cough capsules (can’t take syrup…ugh.) for two days hoping it will expel the phlegm the way the ads said but all it’s doing is making my throat itchier, making me cough more.

That’s when I remembered an old fashioned cure that took care of my coughs before.  I pop in my mouth a slightly-larger-than-a-pea-sized peeled ginger root.  The taste takes some getting used to, but I know it will cure me in a day or two.  If not, I’m going to see our doctor.

Tomorrow is my very first visit to an ob-gyne.  She’s in the clinic 10AM-12PM Tuesdays, so I am taking the day off from work.  Truth be told, I am nervous and scared.

Blogging away my Saturday

None of what I’ll write below is personal finance related.

It’s the third and second to the last day of vacation. Woke up around 7am, had 3 pandesals and a steaming mug of freshly brewed cafe amadeo. Aah…life. Harry Potter and the OOTP was again playing at HBO. Watched it last night so I skipped it, put on a DVD instead.

Australia (Nicole Kidman & Hugh Jackman) is a good film, but when you’re manning the store while trying to finish a DVD spells disaster. I was able to reach the end of the film by 12:30PM…started it at 9. Kumusta naman.

Lunch was good, had tilapia (a type of fish) and chopsuey (mixed veggies). After that, siesta. Rather, computer time. Finally found an .mp4 version of Confessions of a Shopaholic and Marley & Me on Frostwire (piracy alert!). Confessions is already at 94%, Marley is done. I’ll watch it later tonight. Anyway, how come my download of VLC ain’t playing the .avi movies? I need a techie friend fast.

Saturday is also an errands-out-of-the-house day…supposedly. Since I got lazy, I postponed my shopping trip till tomorrow. I need to get some stuff at the mall and then some. Also did my 2-week old laundry while ‘listening’ to videos of a concert i went to a few weeks back. Man, my back is aching! Changed sheets and pillow cases. I can finally sleep on clean sheets! Yey!

Again, happy easter!

Mini, bloody accident

My mama had a mini, bloody accident yesterday around lunchtime. She was cramming all those soda bottles inside our already full freezer when a bottle of Coke Sakto slipped and broke on the tiles. Pieces of broken bottles flew everywhere, one even hit me near the head (I was sitting on the sofa that time, chatting). Thankfully I was quick enough to shield my head with my arm. Mama was hit on the left leg, and got bloody real fast.

Sister 1 got to her first, while I ran to the kitchen to grab some papertowels. I had to scream at my sister to get out of the way and let me stop the bleeding. I can see sister 1 becoming pale at the sight of blood. Anyway, I took hold of Mama’s bleeding leg, placed the papertowels on it and applied pressure. I had to bark a couple of instructions to Sister 1 and Sister 2: get Betadine, basin of water, cottons, gauze, gauze tape, hanky (in lieu of bandage…we have none!). Before I finally dressed up the wound I had to make sure no piece of bottle was inside, so I kinda opened it a bit more just to see. Luckily there was none so I went on dressing it up.

Mama was lucky…her wound was about 5 millimeters away from a vein. It was the same with me when I met the same accident and a piece hit my left foot, less than a centimeter away from a very visible vein.

Easter Sunday tomorrow! Time to rejoice!

I went to the spa!

Maybe it’s the full (or fool) moon, but we finally got around to paying a visit to Wensha Spa Center in Macapagal last night.

I was with two friends, one being a sort of regular client (gym buddy), and one who haven’t had any spa experience until last night (E). As for me, it was only my second time in a spa. We took the bus from Ayala Triangle to World Trade Center and walked the rest of the way.

The wet area had about 10 showers, a medium-sized jacuzzi, two TV sets mounted on the wall, a sauna and steam bath.

For only P680, you may use this spa’s facilities, an hour of body massage and an eat-all-you-can buffet.  No leftovers allowed, though. You’ll be charged with P300 if any is left on your plate.   You may stay at the spa for 8 hours maximum during Mondays to Thursdays, and upto 6-7 hours Fridays to Sundays.  Talk about value for money.

At the reception, I paid an additional P100 for the therapist’s tip, surrendered the locker’s key, and we were handed back our shoes. We left the place feeling relaxed, sleepy, 780 pesos poorer.

All in all, it was a refreshing experience. One I wouldn’t mind repeating, say… next month?