I had back-to-back-to-back conferences and calls today and it will be like this for the rest of the week. The most hectic will be on Thursday when I will have 4 press conferences on top of big regional conferences. I wonder how I will stretch myself.
I have two interviews tomorrow and three regional conferences. I’m tempted to add another screen to my dual monitor setup. Hmm… Maybe I could use the laptop’s screen as a third screen. Crazy week.
We already made peace. Photo by CallMeCreation.com
Kimchi has somehow forgiven me and has started hanging out with me again. But I still need to continue giving her the antibiotic and antacid. The vomiting has stopped ofter 24 hrs of giving her the oral meds last week.
Florals. Photo by CallMeCreation.com
I still sew masks to help me relax at night while watching YouTube videos of crafting, interior design, or whatever creative things that help me calm down. I’m going to give this batch to my cousin who just arrived from Ireland. It’s her birthday today. I think she still has my drunken video about Chris Hemsworth from 2018 when she and another cousin came to my old house to celebrate my singlehood. The next day I was so hungover while packing my bags and was almost late for my flight to Singapore.
Prior to this, I gave the last batch of masks as an appreciation gift to one of my friends from the industry who sent groceries when I was half-dead with Covid. They posted my gifts on Facebook; it seemed like they were really happy with them.
Next projects would be curtains again but with crochet laces at the hem. All handmade by me. Good luck to me.
The girls and I went to my cousin’s house in a private subdivision for lunch today. We brought slabs of steak, beef belly, Korean grill, and the charcoal grill. It’s nice to grill in the garden without worrying about the smoke disturbing neighbors since houses there are far apart.
Had a good chat with her as I haven’t been there since her mom’s hospitalization in August. My children, on the other hand, were enjoying her 50″ TV screen in her room, watching anime on Netflix.
After lunch we went to one of the subdivision’s parks so the girls can ride their bikes.
Photo by CallMeCreation.com
They had a hard time climbing the sloping roads because the subdivision sits on top of a mountainous part of Quezon City.
Walking uphill. Photo by CallMeCreation.com Overlooking Montalban and San Mateo, Rizal. Photo by CallMeCreation.com Photo by CallMeCreation.com
We got back home at 4:45 pm. Nice way to cap the weekend.
Somewhere in UP Diliman. Photo by CallMeCreation.com
The government loosened the mobility restrictions to Alert Level 2 in Metro Manila starting yesterday so children can finally go out of homes and visit parks. We went out this afternoon so the girls can ride their bikes here in UPD for the first time in so many months. I still didn’t bike; I’m still gauging my strength so I just walked, did laps, and stretches.
Finally free. Photo by CallMeCreation.com
This morning I pulled my lazy butt out of bed to cook brunch. I had been very spoiled by Grab Food for a couple of weekends now so now I must flex my muscles in the kitchen.
Baked ham with cheese. Photo by CallMeCreation.com
I made baked ham with cheese, which I learned from Imamu Room’s cooking vlog on Youtube. Then the usual tamagoyaki, rice with furikake, zucchini tempura, and miso soup.
Brunch today. Photo by CallMeCreation.comFire engine red. Photo by CallMeCreation.com
This is the first time I also used the new microwave oven to defrost the ham. It’s cute but smaller than my old Whirlpool. Oh well, I’m shallow like that.
And yes, Kimchi still hates me. She runs away and hides from me. I still have to endure her grumpiness for a few more days because she needs to complete her antibiotic round, anti-hairball/antacid and the supplements.
Lovely Indian Pale Ale. Photo by CallMeCreation.com
I participated earlier tonight in this online craft beer appreciation session where I learned the difference of lager, ale, pale ale, and stout and the different processes and ingredients involved. No wonder I prefer the dark beers; the lagers that I usually have and are accessible to me are like water to me now. This Mitchell’s New England IPA (one of the four beers sent by Served Manila) has fruity notes, has a fuller body compared to the lighter beer that they have sent me. It has a higher ABV at 6.7%.
Mitchell’s, which has won several awards in Asia brewing contests. Photo by CallMeCreation.com
I defied my doctor and had one bottle. I held off on the other beers because I can only defy my healthcare professional once. 😬 One day I will go have craft beer sessions with friends when eating and drinking out is no longer a suicide mission.
I love my cats and I want them to be always well. But it’s hard to give medicines to those damned creatures! I got this scratch before I clipped Kimchi’s and Sushi’s vicious nails/claws.
To think I need to administer three liquid medicines to Kimchi twice a day for seven days. Agggghhhh!
Grumpy cat. Photo by CallMeCreation.com
This guy makes it look so easy. His cat is not as grumpy as my Kimchi. Masungit Kimchi.
Morning sunlight filtered through my muslin curtains that I made. Photo by CallMeCreation.com
I thought I would be having a more relaxed day today so I savored the morning sunlight while in bed. I thought I would take it easy.
Then my cat vomited again. This is the third time it happened. The two times it happened last week were in the mornings and every time Kimchi vomited, she went back to her food bowl and ate again her kibbles like nothing happened. So I thought it was just a case of hairball. But when the girls told me this morning Kimchi vomited twice, I decided this is no longer a hairball case.
Long story short, I spent like 2 hours in the vet clinic. It turns out she has an infection after her CBC came back. I came out of the clinic with a shopping bag full of meds and supplements. I was PHP 4,500 poorer with a very grumpy cat because she was poked three times (CBC, antibiotic, and antacid).
A very grumpy Kimichi. Photo by CallMeCreation.com
Another cause of stress is this: While I was at the vet clinic, a colleague under my watch messaged me he is resigning. Then I called him. That was a bummer because he is productive and resourceful and I was the one who brought him into the company. The biggest push why he is leaving is because of mismanagement–which I had been struggling with for several months now, too. Actually the issue has been festering for a long time now but I just grinned and borne it for years. That issue has been causing me so much stress and probably that’s another reason why I no longer have the motivation to write. I had already warned our APAC head about this months prior and told her people are really unhappy and I’m doing my damned best to keep the team intact while I battle some kind of power struggle because as I step up to help my teammates, I get hammered from above. I am already at the edge and there is little that’s holding me in place now unless they do something to improve the situation.
So I told my junior co-worker that if he talks to the APAC head tomorrow, “please do us a favor; you should tell her everything that is wrong and that I would soon be following you if things don’t turn around.” I’m just holding on because I like the flexibility that I have right now as I can work at my own pace and I can work from anywhere. However, they have let this really bad situation go on and on and on and on for a long time now and I was the one holding up the ceiling. I’m tired. And if I leave, everyone will leave as well as I was the only one keeping the team from falling apart.
The issue has been causing me so much stress and I was just sweeping this under the rug for months because I can handle only one issue at a time. I had to recover first from my heartache then I would tackle the work problem, I thought. However the two had been overlapping, causing me so much anxiety and stress. My back and neck muscles are stiff as hell and I’ve had trouble sleeping for several nights now because of my stiff neck. I booked a massage tonight and that somehow that eased the physical pain.
