Valentine's and Birthday Week Highlights

I feel like I just came from a 2-week Valentine/Birthday celebration and thinking about it, I actually did. It felt like Christmas with the tons of love shared, tons of alcohol that went through my system, tons of food eaten, and tons of money spent on shopping (40 pieces of clothes, 8 pairs of shoes, 3 new bags, 2 belts, a pair of earring, new microwave, new hot and cold water dispenser, new electric fans, new bolts for the house). I am grateful to my sponsors, (you know who you are... *wink*) my special angel, and my hubby. THANK YOU, God! I feel so blessed! I absolutely had no intention of celebrating either but I guess the universe had a different plan for me. Sometimes, it really is important to celebrate occasions like your date of birth. It shows how much you value yourself and that you're worth every penny, every ounce of energy, every little thing that goes with the magic of your creation.

If there's one thing I've realized in this 2-week Valentine's/Birthday hullabaloo, it's about being happy, acknowledging the good inside of me and everything around me. I've also realized that I ought to be more focused with the things I want for myself this year.

I am 33 years old. I've accepted the fact that I only have 24 hours in a day, some of which I actually have to use for sleeping. I'm not like an energizer bunny anymore. I now easily get tired unlike before when I can practically go on, and on, and on. My liver also can't tolerate as much alcohol as before, and I need some down time to recuperate. So I have to streamline my activities and prioritize. This means less time blogging, less time on social networks, less time watching mindless DVDs and more time for the following: my projects, my rakets, my freelance work, my books, water sports activities, friends, family, and yes, rest. Health is still a top priority so I can enjoy life longer and be able to do more of the things I want. Oh, and traveling (I actually booked a number of trips this year --- Boracay, Bohol, Siargao, Bacolod, Bangkok and I'm still looking forward to a trip to Brazil which Koryn and the girls planned to do this year).

Anyway, this is going to be a long post but I'll try to just show you the highlights of the past two weeks.

Valentine's Eve - Dinner Buffet at Sofitel

Celebrating John's Birthday and Balancing Blogging, Work and Home Life

I's true that sometimes I just want to sleep all day and do nothing. I don't know if I could ever do that with the zillion of things that are always on my list of to-do's that never seems to get finished.

Since that time that I got invited to tour Mines View Park in Baguio, to the SM Cubao blogging and shopping challenge, and the Focaccia Food tasting event last Friday, I seem to be saying yes a lot more these days to blog events than I used to before. Is it because I am getting better at managing my time? Or is it because I am getting bored just staying here at home, tinkering with my PC all day and all night, working like a dog?

How to Get Philippine TIN Digitized ID

Just like I promised myself, and despite the fact that I haven't slept for almost two days, I still went to BIR yesterday, at Regional District Office 51 (RDO 51) located in Pasay. I just want to get it over with so I can live in peace once more.

So how did I know that my revenue records were in Pasay City? Well, the other day, when I was getting my Postal ID and NBI clearance, I passed by the BIR Alabang branch located at the 2nd floor of South Station and asked them to verify where my tax records are. I just gave them my TIN number and within seconds, the lady told me that mine is processed in RDO 51 or Pasay Branch, which makes sense because my last ITR was processed by GSIS in Pasay before I retired from the government service.

Office Address:

3^rd Flr., KCT Bldg., EDSA Ext., Pasay City

Revenue District Officer: Josephine S. Virtucio

e-mail: Josephine S. Virtucio

direct no.: 556-8152

fax: 556-8151

Assistant Revenue District Officer: Corazon M. Montes

e-mail: corazon.montes@bir.gov.ph

direct no.: 556-8149

staff: 556-8150 / 556-8153 / 556-8154

Area of Jurisdiction:

Comprised the whole area of Pasay City

How To Get Philippine Postal ID and Advice About Getting TIN cards

I'm a freelance virtual assistant. As such, I don't really have any valid IDs with me except for my passport. The SSS ID I have is still the one I was given on my senior year in Ateneo (laminated and still has my maiden name on it); my GSIS e-card has already expired coz I no longer work for GSIS even if I'm still using my Unionbank account to pay for most of my utility bills; my Philhealth card still has my maiden name on it too; and my Platinum Visa is useless because it doesn't have my photo on it. So whenever I do transactions that need valid IDs, they always tell my that my passport is not enough. Even my NSO certified marriage and birth certificates only serve as secondary IDs.

I was supposed to get other valid IDs years ago but I always dreaded doing it for fear of wasting my time in long lines which can cause me severe migraines just like what happened to me when I had my lost passport renewed (nightmare!). I think my fear of transacting with government offices stemmed from my first encounter with Quezon City Hall back in 2002 when I had the spelling of my name changed on my birth certificate. On my birth certificate, my first name was spelled JENIFER when all my life I have been using JENNIFER. God! Do I blame my parents for this oversight? It was one of the most challenging and horrific moments of my life. Add to that the fact that I paid 26 effing thousand pesos and wasted like few months of my life just taking care of that! Don't wanna live through that kind of hell again!

Sexynomad.Blogspot is Born

Howdy! I just celebrated my 4th birthday at my previous sexynomad blog when I suddenly decided to make a new home here at blogspot.com. It was a toss between totally stopping all my blogging activities or finding a new home. I know I'd regret deleting all my blogs so I chose the latter instead.

After I "snorkeled" my way (see my goodbye post) from i.ph island to blogspot mountain, I am finally here.

Manila Ocean Park, etc. - My Happy 31st Birthday

Like I mentioned on Plurk, I never thought I’d say this….I’m happy to be 31. It’s the best birthday I had so far. No stress, no pressure. I truly felt relaxed, happy, loved, & hopeful. That’s because I spent it just the way I promised myself I would. The blessings I received on the side I consider my bonuses. 

Let me give you a bit of a background. In my entire life, I only got to honor my birthday 13 times. My parents celebrated it when I was 1-4 years old, then when I was 13, then again when I was 16 (which was tragic — I was living with my grannies in Cagayan de Oro at that time and they decided to  do a major celebration. My Lola insisted that I invite my entire class as well as my guy friends from Ateneo. The party started at 12 noon. Then come 6pm, just when we were starting to have fun, she asked everyone to leave. FTW, right?!), then when I was 18 when I insisted that I didn’t want any birthday hoopla whatsoever (I was a teenager with raging and rebelling hormones, what can I say?). Big celebrations started again when I turned 25 and continued until my 30^th. Last year, I promised myself that it would be the last time I will celebrate my birthday in a big way. Though I sincerely enjoyed it, there were just so much stress and heartaches involved before the big event. You see, though a lot of our friends came to that birthday party of mine, none of my bestest friends were there. After all the tiring preparations, the people I wanted most to be there didn’t make it. It left me scarred but I’ve already forgiven them. It’s just that, after it happened, I promised myself that I will never go through that excruciating pain again (yes, I get a bit overly dramatic when it comes to these things). Instead, I will continue to honor and be thankful for all my upcoming birthdays by celebrating it with the one person that I can always count on the most — my perfect someone, my love, my everything — my Peter.

So, on my 31^st birthday, for the first half of my morning, I never expected that I’d get the biggest interview of my life, which I consider my 1^st gift that day. All I can say for now is that out of all the companies I applied for, I really am in love with this one and I am really, really hoping that I get that job. I am even willing to let go of my Bali & Bora trips if they want me to start ASAP. Hmmm… okay, maybe not really since I still have other obligations to finish. But still…! Until another job interview happened two days later and I fell in love with it too! This is such a euphoric feeling! I just hope in the end, I’d be able to make the right decision and choose the job that will truly make me blissful ’til the day I retire.  

Checking out Manila Ocean Park. I wonder what’s new?

 

Verde Island, Batangas

Our real estate broker, Rolly, offered us a free overnight stay for 6 people at Isla Verde in Batangas in the hopes that we’d also be interested in buying a property there.We got interested coz we are also scouting for nice beach lots that we can eventually purchase. So we gave this one a look. Hmm… not bad.

 

After more three hours on the road, we eventually reached this private pier in Batangas for Isla Verde boats. We waited for almost an hour  for our ride. Finally, we boarded and headed to the green island. It took us another 45 minutes by sea. Half the time, I was watching Grey’s Anatomy on my portable DVD player until I decided to turn it off amidst the growing srprinkle of the sea then I dozed off with the gentle sea breeze hitting my face.

ISLA VERDE, Batangas: MY 29th Birthday Celeb Part II

Our real estate broker, Rolly, offered us a free overnight stay for 6 people at Isla Verde in Batangas in the hopes that we'd also be interested in buying a property there.We got interested coz we are also scouting for nice beach lots that we can eventually purchase. So we gave this one a look. Hmm... not bad.

 

After more three hours on the road, we eventually reached this private pier in Batangas for Isla Verde boats. We waited for almost an hour  for our ride. Finally, we boarded and headed to the green island. It took us another 45 minutes by sea. Half the time, I was watching Grey's Anatomy on my portable DVD player until I decided to turn it off amidst the growing srprinkle of the sea then I dozed off with the gentle sea breeze hitting my face.

Me & Papa                                         Me & Peachie 

Gab Cheekee of Parokya Ni Edgar - Birthday Bash

Gabriel Ignatius Juan Cheekee, better known as Gab of Parokya ni Edgar, my cousin-in-law, celebrated his birthday last weekend.