Month: November 2014

Of Coffee Beans & BPO

70 beans = 1 cup of coffee. According to one of the coffee documentary films i watched this weekend inspired by “coffee appreciation” talk of paolo. (Movies were “the story of coffee” and “connected by coffee”)
One of the baristas narrated in the film that the cup of coffee in our hands undergoes 3 stages: the farmers, the roasters (if i remember it right), and the barista/coffeemaker. And, most of the time including me, we only get to see the 3rd stage, which all looks so romantic.
So it was kind of weird to see the “first stage” in the film — farmers toiling the farms, manually handpicking each of the beans / cleaning up / carrying sacks of beans on their back, while (in contrast) i whine about life over a cup of coffee in some well-lit airconditioned romantically set-up cafe. 
The documentaries made me feel guilty on one side – imagine the hardwork of farmers and roasters for that just 1 cup of coffee. but on the other side, the farmers are also very thankful of the coffee drinkers because they put food on their table. so i guess in the end, all is fair.
I guess the one point i learned from the films was that those “expensive beans” from specialty shops are somehow worth the price because they pay the farmers better. So if you can swallow paying a steeper price for those beans with “fair trade” on their packaging or those specialty shops known for being fair to the farmers, go for it.
But one of the scenes that tugged my heart was when this “Americans” (fair trade) buyers made and served coffee to the farmers, and told them how their beans make delicious coffee. It’s heartwarming to see a glimmer of pride on the farmer’s face.
How an appreciation directly received from the “consumer” can make a difference — from being a mere source of income or a provider of beans to having that sense of pride that the beans you work hard for have made someone’s day beautiful. 
And, looking at it, being a BPO country, we’re not different from the coffee growers servicing the high-end coffee shops of different countries of which the farmers probably cannot go. 
My point is sometimes there’s always that “lacking feeling” when you do a job for the sake of getting paid, which can just be filled up easily with seeing the sarisfaction from your “customers” face. 
And, i hope that my happinness in my “mug shots” will reach the coffee growers. 🙂

#Notebook

If Meg has a thing for books, migi has a thing for notebooks. Every now and then, he would request for a notebook.

So what’s inside his notebooks. Mark don’t want me to touch them because he said they’re very private stuff for migi. Anyhoo, the girl in me cannot resist.
***
Those littany of “computer/video games is bad” is kinda true. Because it can lead to poor spelling skills. Well, at least he got the “terraria” part right.

Gawd, how i always try to avoid that “computer is bad” conversation because i’m very guilty of it. But as they say “kung ano pinakain sa mga anak, sya din ang bunga.” This family feeds on software, what can i do? @.@


A whole notebook was filled with this “gibberish.” I mean gibberish, but it probably means a lot to Migi.

#notebook

Edna Kahlo, the life of

I got a new haircut, boy-cut as usual.

As i posted in my facebook, mark’s first comment when he saw my new hair was that I look like Edna. Edna is our neighbor, from outside the subdivision, who peddles items and services inside the subdivision. A neighbor actuAlly pointed out in my fb’s comment that she also sells “budbud.”
But Mark knows her mainly as “masiao dealer.” Masiao is a cheaper version and more personalized lotto. 
And it got me thinking, how i’m not too different from her. She sells “masiao,” I sell fun run. But she probably has a more interesting life.
See, before she targets every guard and carpenter / panday in the subdivision, she’s known to be a “widow-maker.” She burried 3 husbands already being left with 6 kids from different fathers.
And she’s popular because almost all the guards and pandays became her lover (exaggeration maybe). But her latest lover was a panday in one of the houses inside the subdivision who underwent some renovation.
And, i truly wish that he is her true love that will last for a long time. She sometimes “tambay” at home with the “ate’s” and somehow i saw her thru “kilig” and heartbroken moments; and, because raising 6 kids on her own, she deserves a good man beside her.
Love. Sex. Companionship. Hair. I are all no different from Edna. 
 

Alone

I’m alone naturally. 

There are things that Mark will explain them to me like I don’t know about them. And, I would feel being insulted because how dare he talk to me like I don’t think about “deep” stuff. But then I cannot totally blame him because I don’t really talk about what i’m thinking.
There are moments that I cannot understand why people i’ve been with for a long time don’t get how i want things to be done. And, then i would again realize is that because i don’t really talk. 
And, funny because i always think that i’m very talkative.

Foodstamping #weekend

On a few times, i get a comment from “new” friends that they’re surprised that i already have 3 kids because they said they don’t see photos of my kids on facebook. While “old” friends from “multiply days” would tell me why i’m no longer posting photos of my kids on facebook. Because i posted every single day of my kids’ life in multiply from their first bath, nail cutter, haircut, solid food, etc. I probably run out of firsts of my kids to post, that’s why.
I don’t think i stopped posting. They just don’t know where i posted it, or plainly i’m not stalkable for them. Or they have more interesting stuff on their feeds than my posts.
So here’s a photo of them this weekend. We went to maribago blue water on foodstamp.
And here are photos of foods.

And photo of the sold-out beach. All those “recliner seats” were taken. A lot are probably foodstamping too. 

When September ended

I woke up.

We lose big time in the last event but If there’s any consolation from it was that we’re able to pay other people a decent amount of money. It was not huge money, but it was decent (in my standards). We could have earned by slashing down a lot on the manpower’s rate but we felt it was not worth cutting down on.

And i guess for that, we did something good. Of course, on top of having a relatively successful “fun run.”
Funny things i fight for. 

i whine therefore i am

After 3 weeks of getting “busy” in Lapu-lapu, which I felt that I was also busy weeks before that and weeks before that, I’m feeling blah. A few tasks were left behind in the past weeks, and I need to catch up on them but my mind is just so hard to jumpstart. It just refused to do any thing.

Anyhoo, yesterday was the last meeting of the Lapu-lapu project, which was actually of going thru profit and loss. And, it was “loss” written all over the board.

I was thinking of skipping the “meeting” yesterday because “mood swings.” But I’m so happy to own to it, and face it because “closure.”

So any way, too many lessons there. I’m just happy I went thru it. Having survived that, I think I can go thru all sorts of hell in selling all kind of aphrodisiacs. But but but, of course, I’m no longer ignorant to be willingly go thru yet another kind of those.

That 12K event definitely did make a good spanking of wake-up call to me.

Dakong pasalamat ani nga bana who just went along with my “impractical” tasks.

Bask in glitters

There’s so much feeling of “unfairness” inside of me now, but there’s no point of wallowing in it. There was victory, but it feels so empty and devoid.


But I’d rather bask in sunshine and rainbow glitters! 🙂
I have friends. Period. Despite being that distant kind of person, i’m so happy that there are a lot of people who came to my side and back to help out. I guess that’s why carrying that difficult event was somehow not that bad because there are people who do  truly wish me well.
And, there may be a few unfair people but i find more kind people. I’m so thankful for receiving a lot of help from people i don’t know. Even if they were all last minute requests, they were nice to accommodate me.
How can i ever be BV with these? 🙂

A day in a life of a fun run promo girl

Hound on friends to secure a place for a registration booth! Thanks to @thirdteamph’s the F.
Contract signing to secure a booth place.
Check on other booth. Thanks PTT oil station.
Set-up booth.
Fill in another’s booth because someone can’t make it.
Think “can we pull this off?!?” a million times, and wishing even one of the flyers will seAl a deal.
Making appearance at brand supporters 🙂
Trying to appear everything is going great in front of the “client.” 🙂
Last x days, thank you, Lord!!!

Why do you run? Because real life is not hard enough.

According to paolo g lim. 
Now why do you organize a fun run? Because stupid is stupid does. 

Since January this year, every month, there is a fun run / event to promote. 

And, just when 2014 is about to end, i ended up with the hardest fun run to handle. Just when i thought, i figured it all out. It’s a long story but this is probably the “fun” run that i became sleepless with anxiousness. Sleepless of doing endless tasks is different from being sleepless because of anxiety / panic.
Anyway, i’ll put up another post about the drama of this. But one thing for certain though, i learned a lot! Horribly a lot! Thus, i’m still very thankful anyhow!
The funny thing though that after this hard problem, the next will be harder! @.@
Wooshaaa! Lez do this!