I Quit!

What a beautiful feeling, a sense of freedom!

No that that it's done; I can concentrate on the future!

Remember that post a little more than a year ago about how I was going to take control of my life again and seek out things that made me happy and fulfilled? Click(Here).

Well, today was the first big step. I owed it to myself to move on… I had been reassessing the situation for months and always came to the same conclusion; this job is making me miserable… I tried, I did, really. But even with all the prayers I made and the effort I made to try to appreciate this job, I was still feeling very unhappy.

I got a call on Monday saying that the job I interviewed for  a month ago was mine if I still wanted it and by the end of yesterday, I had made up my mind and I felt so relieved. Moreover, my Other Half has been a 150% behind me and I’m so thankful to him for that.

The great news is that this new job is really a great opportunity, and after my 6 weeks’ notice at my current job, I’ll still have a month and a half of well deserve break before starting at my new job. I’m glad I won’t have to start pulling my hair out trying to make a decision.

I’m planning on celebrating by drinking copious amounts of wine while Other Half will just watch me go a bit neurotic…

And of course, this would not be a real celebration I did not treat myself with  a nice pair of shoes, bags, and clothes (what?! A girl needs to look perfect in this crazy corporate world I’ll be entering!)…because that’s just how I roll, YO!

Well, well, well...

… I have found the perfect picture to stick on the toilet door at my office !!!!

Do you remember the post where I talk about the fact that I am profoundly annoyed by people who are too damn lazy and stupid to be able to change a toilet paper roll? If not you can click HERE and you’ll know all about the beef I have with these type of weirdos…

Anyway, I’m sure sticking this picture below won’t bring me new friends but at least I hope the message will go through this time :-)

The start of a new week = positive thinking!

So these are my thoughts for this week :

HAPPY MONDAY TO ALL OF YOU! MAY THIS WEEK BRING YOU A FRESH START AND IF IT IS NOT THE CASE,  JUST REMEMBER THAT BRIGHTER DAYS ARE AHEAD….

This day wasn't so bad afterall...

I was in a "panic" mode this morning as I had taken a day off last Friday, which meant that work had piled up on my desk and in my mailbox. I manage to do go through 6 bullets out of 10 on my to do list, which makes me pretty proud of myself.

On top of things, my boss who arrived in the office quiet grumpy almost instantly changed his mood once we started working together… I’m not going to bad mouth him on my blog, I’m tempted but I won’t do it. Why? Because one of my cousin reminded me that even though he seems to have everything in his life to make him happy, he is missing one HUGE part: Faith.

This is what she wrote to me after I explained to her that I was having a bad day, and that dealing with a difficult person was a bit part of it:  "Material things can not fill their longing, only God can. Be lovable to them, not by choice but do it because it pleases our Lord. Even better, pray for these people--- you can not hate them if you are praying for them you know? Try it--- it works!"

And it does work! I don’t know why I didn’t think of that as soon as I got in the office, as most of days, I’ll start my day with a prayer, why not today? Because I let myself get caught with the stress of the world instead of following my faith and its principles… Focus on our Lord and let Him deal with the rest…

Tomorrow is another day, and I promise myself that my first words will be for the Lord… I have no doubt that whatever comes my way, I will face it with courage as I know that I am not alone…

Until then, I am grateful for my wonderful Other Half, who manage to take a few hours off to pick-up the kids and relieve me from the worries of not getting on time at the kids’school this evening. I’m looking forward to a nice family meal and a relaxing eveing with my Other Half catching up on our favorite series and probably falling asleep in his arms…

I hope you Monday has been good to you, and remember tomorrow is full of possibilities…

It's Monday! Oh dear....

I usually try to be positive on Mondays but I have to admit feeling under the weather has an effect on my mood…
On top of all, I have tons of work to finish for… well, yesterday and I have a big party dinner to organize for Saturday. Other Half is working almost all week, which basically means I’m on “drop and pick-up kids” duty (and that means getting up at 5:45 every morning! How can life be so cruel????). Add to this some groceries shopping, laundry to be done by Wednesday evening, working out [insert HUGE SIGH here], oh dear, oh dear, oh dear…

So I hope this big cloud on top of my head will move on… Until then I wish you all a joyful week!

Guess who is taking a day off tomorrow?

Nobody else than MOI (*insert Evil laugh here*)

Can you guess my mood this morning?

Yup, nothing more to add… Sigh…

Wise Words...

… For those of you who are on a hectic morning at work just like me…

HANG IN THERE !!!

So some people should be ashamed…

ALERT ! ALERT ! My OCD just kicked in ! Well Iv’e been trying to control it for a while But ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!

So I am interrupting my daily joyful posting to tell you:

"I’M SO DAMN SICK OF PEOPLE WHO ARE INCAPABLE OF REPLACING THE TOILET PAPER ROLL!!!!"

Evidence in Toilet n°1 of my office:

Evidence in Toilet n°2 of my office:

I see a roll on the bin and immediately my thoughts go coockaloo "hello germs! Bacterias! Lady problems!" Damn it!!! Are you a moron or what?!

So while I'm still trying to regain a bit of calm, please watch the following video and try to get the message I'm trying to pass on:

Thank you for your kind attention, I hope I never cross the path of a lady who is getting out of the toilet leaving it in the state I just found them as – I PROMISE YOU THAT ALL HELL WILL BREAK LOOSE!!!

Every Wednesday...

... this "OCD" mummy does A LOT of this:

Yup, this is what I will be doing after work and before my Fairy Cleaning Lady comes tomorrow…

Sometimes, being at work is nice, yup….

I think I’m having a "mid-life crisis"…

Yes I know I’m only 30!!!

My mid life crisis isn't manifesting itself as a shiny new Porsch  (only guys do that anyway, right?), or a new makeover. I'm only embracing one classic symptom of the standard mid-life crisis:

What the "eff" am I still doing at this job?

I hate this job! I kind of like some of the stuff I do. I don't hate my co-workers but I feel stressed and miserable here. I'm just here. Most of the time my workload is minimal, and I do a lot non-work related stuff for my Boss’ wife most days. I actually have many responsibilities; I'm just "that good" at what I do. I'm fast, efficient and thorough. Every time I got hired, the jobs have turned into much more than I was hired for. I’m tired of all this lateral move…

I'm bored. I'm uninspired and I want to do something worthwhile.

I want to spend more time with my kids. I miss them. I also want them to see their mommy working at something she enjoys instead of something she has to do because this really not the example I want to set for them.  I want them to see me doing something I'm really interested in, or at best, passionate about it.

I know this is the life most of us have to live. We need our paychecks, and with our new house, I certainly need mine.

All my life I’ve found excuses not to dare more… I don't make the changes because it will cost money to take the extra classes I'll need. Or I can't go to school and work at the same time, and I need to work.

And lately what has been going in my mind is: IT’s FUCKING SCARY! It's scary to put myself out there!!!  It's especially scary when aiming at more senior position. I know I'm good at what I do now. I want to be good at what I want to do. I’m not certain I will be and that scares me. I like to be great at what I do. It helps my self esteem.

We spent a long time putting a lot on hold to buy our house. It took a lot to find the perfect place and sell our previous home. A lot of time, a lot of money and a lot of our energy went towards that. I could never consider a career change during that time period. The only priority was to make our family comfortable and leaving in an area where we would like to see them grow…

Now we have house, and it’s fabulous. And it's time for me to stop making excuses and give it a shot.

I’m taking a day off tomorrow to continue the my interviews, let’s hope my face doesn’t meet the floor like the last time J

Wish me luck, I’ll need it...

Happy Women's Day!

Today marks the 100th anniversary of International Women’s Day.

So to all the women out there, young and old, I wish you all a beautiful day….

No one can make you feel inferior
without your consent.

~ Eleanor Roosevelt ~

Being a Filipina who has the privilege of having a beautiful life, I feel it is my duty to remind people that this is not the case for every woman out there…

 All women should have access to education and healthcare. They should also be safe from violence and abuse…

Many women I know do not have the same privilege that I or my daughter have. Many have to stop studying at a very young age and start working to support their families. Many will have unwanted pregnancies; put their life and their babies’ life and health at risk because of poor access to healthcare. Some women will be abused by their husband or member of their families… We need to stop this!

We need to help each other, raise awareness on these subjects and think about our children if not us…

I want my daughter to be proud of me, she may not approve of everything I will have done in my life, but I want to set an example for her of being proud of whom she is, of being true to herself and always do what she believes in…

I want her to go to school and educate herself so she will be able to pay forward what so many women have done for our generation of women to have a voice…

Source of picture: I Love Being A Girl: This link is dear to my heart, I used to work for IPPFEN (which stand for International Planned Parenthood Federation European Network). There are a few video on this link which are worth watching...

Let's make a difference together!!!!

To Quit or Not to Quit...

… That is the question I have now answered!

So I was reading this article, and decided to see if I could tick any of the points he had enumerated:

1. You've recently felt so stressed out at work, that you are turning into an emotional employee.

YES! I won’t hide I’ve been fantasizing in so many ways on how I could tell x and y to “eff” off!

2. Time drags.

I feel so bored at work! This is a huge sign that your career has turned into "just a job".  As I have written in one of my last post I want my work to have some kind of meaning…

3. You get pigeonholed into a few tasks that you do really well at.

This is so true, not much challenge here, and I promise you I have asked a thousand times for some!

4. For one reason or another you've become angry and bitter towards your job, your boss, or a few of your not-so-favorite co-workers (or all of the above).

Hummm.. Won’t say who, but I think I don’t need to…

5. You've had a spat with a co-worker that escalated into more of a fight and the entire office knows.

Me?! Never!!! Oh well, not my fault if this person in question is (*insert bip!!!!*)

6. You're having a difficult time financially.

Oh don’t get me wrong, I know I’m very lucky and that my salary is really very good…But is it worth the hassle? Honestly I don’t believe it… I would rather have a more modest life but be happy… There will be less shopping at Zara, but more happiness in my heart…

7. You've caught whim of a "reorganization"…

It might be happening, but I don’t want to be here to hear about it…

8. Your co-workers are have been acting differently around you.

Yes!!! But in a good way! They only have been sweet and nice… I think some of them have noticed what is really going on and others did not hesitate to tell me that they would understand if I didn’t want to stay…

9. Your boss has been acting differently around you.

I might just say, I have seen his "true" face…

10. You have the gut feeling that you might need to quit for one reason or another.

I've had it since my first day, but I tried to convince myself that it was just me who needed to adapt to a new environment… Now I know I should have listened to myself sooner…

I've had a few phone calls for interviews, so I’ll be busy these coming weeks… It feels great to be considered when I'm sure a lot of people are sending their applications and I really hope the perfect job is just a phone call away…

Prayers are more than welcome J

Re-assessment time...

“Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way
to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work.
And the only way to do great work is to love what you do.
If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking, and don’t settle.
As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it.“
~ Steve Jobs

For me working has always given me an opportunity to shine, to gain credibility from external sources. I enjoy the positive recognition from people other than my family. Through the effort and dedication I invest.

At fifteen, I started working in a local restaurant. I was at the lowest level and I had to show that I was just as capable as the rest of the team. I jumped in, cautiously with experienced and season worn chefs, and I tolerated month’s worth of their rigorous initiations. Head down, bum up, grinding away despite the heat and the atmosphere.

I gradually acquired trust and respect from all these men in the brigade. A trust that was earned through hard work; a huge amount of pragmatism coupled with common sense. An “angelic” smile and the ability to roll my own cigarettes no doubt helped.

I worked in the restaurant for three years. Part time through school and during week-ends and holidays. I worked hard and, of course, played hard.

Recalling this first job, and reliving the sense of achievement I felt at gaining the respect of my colleagues through hard work, makes me realize that this aspect of my work ethic has not altered at all…

But lately, I have been feeling miserable at work. I've only been here 4 months and I can already tell you that I will not be staying that much longer... I have the feeling that I have been fooled and that my job really does not correspond to the job description I had received in the beginning...

Work hard. Fit in. Always do your best. Never ever gossip or take sides in a team. Be mindful of how your actions impact on others. Don't be afraid to shine for your hard work and achievements, but never take credit where it's not due. Be gracious with a smile regardless of environment. Respect the experience you are lucky to work with.

I am lucky to have met some amazing mentors through my journey.  Men and women that saw some potential in me that I couldn’t see in myself. I always knew I could and would work hard.

Now, I really miss the passion, and the cut and thrust of being really good at something. I miss the thrill of the negotiations, the thrill of the wins. The completions. I miss the life cycles of projects.

Time to start investigating what to do next...

I have been sending CVs, I really hope my dream job is out there...

Morning Karaoke...

Yep that's right. This morning, on my way to work, I got caught singing in my car. I was singing I Can’t Help Myself very loudly when we pulled up to a 2 lane roundabout, and well my window was down and the man (who may I say was SUPER HOT!!!!!!) in the other car had his passenger window down, I turned to look and he was watching me, singing like an idiot, and laughed, and waved, I waved back and cracked up and drove away…

Thank God I wasn’t picking my nose (ME?! Just kidding I would never do that!!! *INSERT DOUBLE COUGH*)… To be honest, I don’t really care who notices when I am furiously head bopping, I’m happy I gave someone a good laugh for 2 seconds J

Working Girl… Hum, Hum…AMAGAD!!!!

So a very good friend of mine just discovered my blog and he sent me the definition of a "Working Girl" that can also be found on Wikipedia:

working girl (plural working girls)

1. (uncommon) A young woman who works.
2. (idiomatic, euphemism) A prostitute.

And on Urban Dictionary:

Euphemistic term for a prostitute, often preferred by the sex workers themselves.

She: I don't like being called a whore or a prostitute.

He: How would you describe yourself then?

She: I'm a working girl.

Now I understand why he asked if I had changed profession while he was absent!!! I am so embarrassed but at the same time I found it hilarious! No wonder I had so many readers to my blog!

OK for my excuse, English is not my mother tongue!!! I have been raised in 3 languages: Tagalog, French AND English!

So I’ll have to change my profile or maybe I’ll leave as it is, traffic is still traffic right? J

Feeling of the day...

Workin' 9 to 5

What a way to make a livin'

Barely gettin' by

It's all takin' and no givin'

They just use your mind

And you never get the credit

It's enough to drive you crazy

If you let it

Someone help me, I’m scared…

So this morning my boss asked me buy some paint for this apartment he is renovating. So I took my car and my courage and walked into the bowels of Brico. That store scares me, I mean literally, I start sweating, I feel disoriented, I hyper-ventilate.

Give me a store like IKEA and I’m at home. Or send me to ZARA and I can find anything in there with my eyes closed. I can walk into ETAM lingerie and do just fine. NO, NO, NO, stop, rewind, and erase that last sentence! I used to be fine, now it takes me a lot of patience to find the perfect underwear to hide my double decker butt … And the pictures of the models just makes me want to shove down a super-size Bic Mac down their throat. Sad, but not scary…

But Brico IS SCARY! I don’t know where or what anything is. Brico Managers, you need to read this, you need to have a "clueless women" section  with hot guys with the looks of the Diet Coca Cola commercial to help us/me, figure out what we really need. Or even better they can offer to come on over and help fix whatever needs to be done…

Instead, I got a very Big guy, with a horrible view on his butt crack explaining to me for the zillion time the difference between aubergine and the taupe paint… I ended buying both, will see what my boss says about that, but for sure, I’ll have to go back, hopefully my wish for cute guys helping out will be granted… What?! Miracles do happen right?

Prayer of the day...

New week, continue with resolution to lose weight…

Prayer of the day:

Dear Lord,

Please help me resist:

1. The little pieces of chocolate that my colleague just put in front me.

2. The left-over caramelized juice ribs awaiting in my fridge

3. The un-opened bottle of red wine  that has been by calling me for weeks now

I have been trying to lose the 5 last pounds that keep on cringing to my hips… I’ve done it all, the gym, the Tracy Anderson DVDs, the eat only one slice of apple a day (which is clearly crazy! But as I am slightly stupid at times had to try for half a day, before indulging in a HUGE Big Mac!), and I finally managed to shred 4 pounds. I need to resist temptation if not I will have to go up a pants size, then I will really have a break into the forbidden red wine bottle! (Ok now, I sound like an alcoholic, so I’ll stop)

Besides, I really need to lose those last pounds because I can’t wait to buy the super cool leather leggings I saw a week ago at ZARA. I already have the Rocking Tee and the super high heels to go with it! Yeahaaa!!! Hot Momma in becoming!

Anyway, pray for me as there is a reason why SHRED rhymes with DEAD!

5 things I love about going to the office...

It’s Monday, I’m back in the office and even though I really had a great week-end that I wished never ended, I try to look at the positive reasons to be in the office, here are 5 of them:

1. My morning drive radio time where I can listen to whatever I darn well please.

2. The lovely quiet in my office: SILENCE IS BLISS!

3. A huge window with a beautiful view on an abbey and a park.

4. My room to stash all the food goodies that I want and the kids not finding it.

5. Last but not least: NON-STOP FREE COFFEE!

And you, How is your Monday?