Rainy Day Payment Day

As expected, it was raining once again this morning, but it wasn’t bad enough that I had to bring an umbrella again.  Barely a light shower actually, though the sky was a little darker than usual, I have to admit.  Got to work without much incident, but the rest of my shift was anything but relaxing.  In short, rainy weather aside, it was the usual Tuesday shift for me.

We were missing at least three people this time around, so even if the floor was half-filled with people for half of the morning, there weren’t enough people on the merchant side of things to keep up with the incoming calls.  That meant that, again, we were pretty much drowning in calls, with literally only our break times as breathers.  This continued until I think noontime (by which there were only three of us left on the merchant side), at which point the queue slackened enough that we had time to actually talk to each other, instead of just answering the phones.

It was raining a little stronger once my shift ended, but it wasn’t enough to soak me as I ran to jump onto a jeepney, or when I finally left the MRT station.  Indeed, by the time I got home, there was nary a drizzle.  It’s the reason why I decided to actually use the afternoon to pay some bills — to be specific, the phone+internet bill, a good chunk of my credit card bill, as well as a chunk of what I used as a supplementary card holder on my sister’s account.  

I brought an umbrella just to be on the safe side, which turned out to be a good decision, as by the time I left our local bank (where I had passed by first to pay off some my credit card charge) it was really coming down.  It was a little harder to get to the payment center where I can pay off the rest of the bills I had with me, as some parts of the way was already flooded by then, but I was able somehow to get there.  Payment out, and all of a sudden my bank account was once again more than a little lighter for the trouble.  I wish that losing weight was as easy.

Going home was a little tougher, given the aforementioned rapid flooding.  I had to do some backtracking and alternate-route searching, and even had to make a quick wade through ankle-deep floodwater (bleaaaagch), but I got home.  Somewhat soaked obviously, which meant that I didn’t hesitate for a minute to run to the bathroom for a quick bath.

Since my cousin is out, it’s just me and my father at home right now.  I helped cook dinner for a change, and despite it not my usual habit, I even ate dinner with tatay.  I have to say though, it didn’t feel like it was only the two of us who ate, given the large pile of dishes I had to wash and rinse afterward.

It’s still raining a bit even now, so at the very least I can expect another nice and cool evening to sleep with.

 

 

 

Slacking Into The New Week, Fuwa-Fuwa Style

As predicted it was raining for much of the day, to the point where  actually had to bring an umbrella to work again for a change.  On the plus side, it wasn’t too windy, and it didn’t flood in our neighborhood, so the only hassle I had to contend with was the muddy streets, and the vehicular traffic on the way to the MRT station.  Speaking of which, I was able to catch one of the early-morning MRTs, which is lucky I suppose, as the service shut down for a few hours after that (due to the rains again).

The day at work was pretty slow for a Monday as usual.  Was on membership duty again, as the guy I was sharing the system profile was in, but it was a bit annoying, as for the entirety of the day not a single membership went active: for some reason, despite finishing everything, all the new memberships we did defaulted to “inactive” status, which obviously made for a lot of annoyed callers.  And there was no update on just why it was happening from the people stateside.

It was still raining after I got off work, enough that I had to call off my visit to the gym today.  On the bright side, it was so nice and cool that I was able to go straight to bed for the afternoon.  I was feeling a little sleepy, but again I can blame that on watching too much anime on my pc.

Incidentally, I was able to finally find online sources for the R1 dubbed versions of both seasons of K-On.  With my connection, it’s taking a while to download of course, but I’m watching each episode as they finished.  It’s turned into a nostalgic, and at the same time new experience with the English dub.  Still getting used to Yui sounding like Asahina Mikuru of course, but I’m liking what I’m hearing overall, like Sawako and Nodoka’s VAs.  

Hopefully everything is finished by the end of the week, so I can do a proper binge.  

 

 

 

Rainy And Wild

Ah, I have to say, today’s shift hearkened back to the time where I was either alone, or part of a trio taking calls during the weekend.  Why so?  Because not only did the calls came in quickly, the low agent count (at least as far as merchant solutions was concerned) meant that the queue backed up just as fast.  Out of the five people expected to come in, only three of us actually did, which meant that the calls were almost back-to-back up until eleven-thirty or so, and it was literally only during our designated break times that we can rest our throats.  It wasn’t as stressful, but just as tiring as a Tuesday shift, for sure.

While it wasn’t raining when I left for work this morning, it started to pour around mid-morning, and never really stopped.  It was raining once I got home, and it’s only intensified from late afternoon onward.  We weren’t even able to go to church for the evening mass, that’s how strong the rain (and the accompanying wind) had become.

On the bright side though, this means that it’s going to be cool for the rest of the night, which means it’s going to be easy going to bed and sleeping for a change.  On the down side though, if the rain continues until tomorrow, then a lot of us are going to be wet going to work in the morning.

P.S. I made a quick detour to have a back massage, but I have to say it was very unsatisfactory.  The masseuse assigned to me seemed to have no concept of a proper rubdown, and instead seemed to focus on pushing down really really hard on specific points on my back. Ugh.

 

 

 

Nothing Comes To Mind

And really, that’s how I feel tonight.  It’s hard to talk about one’s day when the most noteworthy part of it was the fact that… I woke up close to lunch time yet again.  But given who I am, that’s pretty common now, isn’t it?

Since I already watched the Dark Knight last night, I didn’t feel any particular urge to go out, so I spent the rest of the afternoon either reading or… lying in bed.  Yes, it was the typical lazy weekend afternoon, but I did go out before evening to the nearby National Bookstore branch to get a pair of bookends for the shelves I had (as I was bothered how the books looked like they’d fall over).

I wish I could say more about my day off, but aside from vegging out (which is also a common occurrence during my breaks), there’s nothing to it really.

 

 

 

Rainy Day After

I can’t really say that today was much more fruitful than yesterday, as far as weekends or days off go.  I think some of the post-birthday lethargy hadn’t quite faded, which is as good an excuse as any to why I woke up just an hour and a half before lunchtime.  Yeah, that’s it.

The only other thing of note that I did during the day (well, aside from starting on the base colors of the skyline) is my late-afternoon trip to the movie theater (in Glorietta 4) to watch the Dark Knight Rises.  Was it worth the trouble going to Makati, and on the tail-end of the week at that?  I’d say yes.  Great movie, and what’s more, since I watched it on technically a weekday, the cinema wasn’t as packed with people as you’d expect on, say, a Saturday or a Sunday

Mmm.  Since my sister and her husband are planning on watching tomorrow, ah, good luck to them then.

The only downside to this trip to the cinemas was the fact that it was raining by the time I got out, and what was worse, for some reason they weren’t allowing people into the MRT station (which meant that the line had grown to an unreasonable length).  I had to look for an alternative way to head home (which is to say a combination of commuting via jeepney plus some walking in the rain — thank Haruhi I brought a small collapsible umbrella with me).  It took slightly longer, but by the time I got to my neighborhood, it was okay for me to walk without even opening my umbrella.

Still, going to the movies meant that I had to miss out on gym this afternoon. Have to make up for that somehow.

 

 

 

My Day Was A-Okay

Although things didn’t start exactly as I wanted — due to some late-night/early morning uploading of pictures unto danbooru, I woke up at around ten instead of at five — my birthday went more or less without a hitch.  Tatay had apparently bought the pork barbecue skewers as expected, and by the time I went downstairs to freshen up my cousin was preparing the sauce for the pasta that was going to go along with it.  All that was missing was some cola… which apparently fell to me to purchase.  

Hmm.  

Somewhere along the line, I guess stopped being “merely” a birthday celebrant, and was now also responsible for buying some of the stuff needed for our very modest celebration.  In this case, it was two bottles of the aforementioned cola (2 liters of zero and normal Coke) and a cake.  Yes, I had to buy my own freaking cake.  Oh well, at least I got to choose the flavor and size this time, which is to say that I bought a small black forest cake from the nearby Goldilocks.  Mmm.

Right on schedule my sister (and her husband) arrived, so after waiting for the barbecue to finish we had lunch as a family.  Though the spread was set up for five people, there was still a bit left over for dinner.  

In a bit of an aside, I was a bit surprised to find out that my sister was apparently already at least five weeks pregnant.  Why was I the last one to learn about this?  Oh, right, my sister doesn’t talk to me.  D’oh.  Anyway, I expressed as much to my mother (who called sometime prior to lunch to greet me), to which she replied that I was going to have to do my best to become a good aunt.  Uhm, okay. Well, that, and she’s got some of the books on my review list ready for shipping.  Now that’s a good and useful birthday gift if I’d ever known one.

And hey, I managed to dodge a potential bullet there — the leading question on when I’m planning on giving them grandchildren…

Since I missed out on the morning mass, I had to make do with a late-afternoon one, however the only schedule we knew reliably was the one held at Baclaran church, so I had to leave early to even make it…  And make it I did.  It was short (for the curious, the gospel was about the parents of Mary), and enough for me to pray and give thanks for the blessings I’ve received so far over the year.  Okay, it’s not exactly been peachy (I did miss out on this term’s comprehensive exam after all), but there’s still a bit to be thankful for.

And to top it off, I didn’t get rained on when I went home.  That’s always a plus during my birthday.

 

 

 

Another Year Of Small Blessings

Today’s shift at work was largely unremarkable and mostly unexciting.  The only thing of note was that I had to take a process exam, which instead of being a quarterly thing is now (for some reason) done monthly.  Oh well, got ten out of ten, so that’s one thing scratched off my worry list.

As I mentioned the other day, since my leave request was granted I’m basically free on my birthday… Which means that I’d be able to do all those stuff I mentioned yesterday.  Mmm, time to set my alarm then — while I already wake up pretty early in the day, tatay likes those seaside walks really early (so when he swings by the wet market he gets stuff relatively fresh).  Barbecue is definitely in the cards (whether it’s really pork, or chicken, remains to be seen), but with my sister involved (she and her husband might drop by) I think pasta is in the cards as well.  Tatay also mentioned valenciana, but I really have to wonder if we have any sticky rice left over…

Ah, I’ll just worry about it tomorrow.  For now, bed.  Have to also be early enough for the morning mass.  Got a lot to pray about, and be thankful for, after all.

P.S. Yes, it was my payday, and yes, I quickly put the cash (six thousand and two-hundred pesos, after taxes all told) into my savings. Hopefully it lasts longer than the end of the month.

 

 

 

One More Step, Close To Another Year Older

Tomorrow’s payday once again, and while there aren’t any outstanding bills to pay (yet) it’s always nice to have money put into savings again.  Whether the money will actually stay there is another matter entirely (due to the aforementioned bills), but for now it’s actually something to look forward to.

As for my request for a vacation leave on the 26th, well, it apparently got approved.  Which is nice, since it means I can enjoy my birthday without having to worry about nosy co-workers looking for an excuse to treat them for lunch.

Now, what will I do on my birthday?  I suppose it’s an early visit to church and, depending on whether or not I go to bed on time, a walk with my father by the bay area in front of the Mall of Asia again.  It’s kind of been a while since I last did so.  And after that?  Shopping for the small celebration I guess, with either chicken or pre-prepared pork barbecue skewers.  Mmm.

And after all that?  I’m not really sure.  I suppose I could go out and treat myself with some time at the spa (a massage and facial sound very nice right now), but I guess I’ll just see to that when the day itself arrives.

 

 

 

Feeling A Lot Better

As mentioned by the title of today’s post, I’m feeling much better now, at least when compared to how crappy I still felt as of last night.  There’s still the occasional cough, but by and large I’m no longer feeling chilled, nor my eyes seem like they need to let out the waterworks.  I’m still feeling a bit lethargic though, but given how I’ve done nothing but rest in bed or eat, I think it’s expected.  Now if I could only do something about the extra weight gain, and things would be perfect…

Today’s shift was pretty much languid and casual, which is just how I’d like it. With the avail times between calls, I was able to pace myself, which is a good thing, as my hearing hasn’t quite recovered from all that nose-blowing I had to do over the last few days (due to the near-fever I mean).  It’s a wonder that I hadn’t gone deaf, which is always a worry.

Tomorrow it’s back to the usual work shenanigans, but hopefully the stress (and there WILL be stress) won’t cause me to relapse.  Because there’s nothing worse than feeling like crap close to or during one’s birthday.  Speaking of which, I hope that my vacation leave application for the 26th gets approved, because it’s never nice to be at work during my birthday, heh.

 

 

 

Gloomy As The Weather

It’s the second consecutive day of rain here in the city, and depending on who you ask, we’re still in for a day or two more of this.  I don’t mind the rain itself (really, I don’t), but with it my health seems to have gotten worse.  As of yet there’s no fever, but the coughs are near-constant, not to mention the itchy eyes, clogged and running nose, plus the chilled feeling I’ve been having, well, I’m generally not feeling so well.

 I still went to work today though, but the constant coughs made it hard to answer calls that well, never mind the fact that the feeling that I’m just an inch closer to a full-blown fever, and it’s not surprising that I had to beg off work early.  So by eleven I had to leave so I could recover at home (and not spread any more germs in my little corner of the work floor).

And the rain just had to intensify once I was close to home.  Yeah, I was not happy at all at getting soaked.

I took some medicine, then did what the office nurse told me and just sleep for the day.  Which I did.  I can’t really say that I feel better, as my eyes still itch, and my nose still alternates between runny and clogged, but at least the coughs aren’t as bad as earlier.  I still feel chilled though, but my temperature seems to be the same.  Maybe the change in weather made me over-sensitive?  Might be.

Anyway, I hope that this continues on to my birthday (which is in a few days).  I seriously do not want to have a repeat of what happened three or four years ago, where I was pretty much feverish and confined to my bed for the whole of my birthday and a few days after.  

Ugh, anyway, here’s to hoping that things will be better when I wake up tomorrow.