Sweet World of Joan

I attended last week the wedding of my former student Jhay Surmeda. I don’t usually socialize with my students outside school events or even attend personal events happening in their lives. I am reluctant attending those kinds of events, I am aware of the respect they give me and at times I know they avoid talking to me if they can help it. It can be very awkward. But you can say there are special students I hold dear in my heart that even the passing of time can’t erase that. I do have students becoming my close friends after they graduated and would meet up or communicate with each other once in a while. So when Jhay requested me to attend his wedding I just can’t refuse him(although it took me a month to really agree attending). It was an honor really, for him to still think of me after all these years and even felt I am special enough to witness a very important milestone in his life. The wedding of Jhay & Lea Surmeda was held last June 16, 2009, 3:00 pm at the I...

I often wonder why people cry at weddings, on weddings I've watched on TV or weddings I witnessed myself. Oftentimes it is the bride that is crying or the mother of the bride or the groom sometimes is the one that’s crying. There are even instances that the wedding guests are the ones doing it. It is a mystery to me for no one cried at my wedding, it was a joyous event and everyone was happy. I have a sensitive nature being a Pisces and am really a crier if it’s a very sad story. I cried very hard when Dobby died while reading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows; read it three times cried three times too. But I don’t cry even if I am very happy. Asked people, friends and family why they think people cry at weddings and here is what I found out: They are so happy They cry because their child will leave them (sudden realization) They are overwhelmed with strong emotions They envy the love between the bride and groom They feel self pity They cry because of the life the...

I love going to Divisoria. I’ve been going to Divisoria for almost twenty years now. It is where I go to buy important stuff in my house from curtains, bed sheets, house decors to office clothes, toys and even the necklaces I have comes from there. Even some raw materials for my business I buy there. I usually go to Divisoria three to four times a year, more often if the need arises. Before I buy, clothes, household items or toys in department stores I would first try to look for it in Divisoria. Its one ways I can save money. Friends and family consider me an “expert” in Divisoria but I don’t consider myself that, my knowledge came from experience. What’s funny about it is that I don’t know how to haggle. I am kind a bit shy doing that but my mom is a master in haggling it is a wonder when you see her in action. Here are my Survival Tips Make a list of all you planned to buy and try to know ahead of time what stores or areas in Divisoria you plan to buy them Bring just eno...

My last trip to Divisoria with my mom two weeks ago was memorable , first because it almost took me a month to really go there because of the continues rains(you don’t want to be there when it’s been raining coz of muddy streets) and we almost been a victim of a scam . We went to Divisoria in the afternoon so that it won’t be too hot and doing so we were on a very strict schedule to buy what we needed; most of the good shops in Divisoria close at 6pm. It was nearing 5pm when I decided to eat, we only have the fabrics left to buy for the new curtains and new blankets and maybe see new toys near Divisoria Mall and Ilaya. Since we are at 168 Mall and their foodcourt have authentic Chinese food that is where we went. But before we even reach the stalls we were greeted by a group of well dressed men, asking us if we can watch their product demonstration and they would give us a shopping bag as a token. We accepted. I was strapped to their foot massager and my mom to some pads conn...

I am taking my hobby turned business into a full time work and at the moment I am slowly but surely making my products known. My official website is still unavailable at the moment, for I still have to finish it. The problem is there are so many things I want to put there, so many products I want to promote that I am a little confused what to do with it. So I have to look into alternatives to get my products online and be seen by people. One discovery I made is AKA Mobile directory . It is primarily an SMS search engine and allows registered users to “find and be found”. The directory can be search thru SMS or thru the web. What I like about AKA is its SMS search engine , it’s like google search but thru SMS. You can search any information you want by just text AKA FIND keywords to 0922.999.7255. AKA’s SMS search engine can be search even by non-registered users. Being a registered user of AKA has a lot of benefits especially to entrepreneurs like me; it has Messaging f...

When I signed up for MySandbox account a month ago there was this ad in the site that if you signed up you can glazed yourself and your friends. A few weeks after I receive an email that says “time to glaze myself”. Last week I finally glazed myself! So happy.

I have many friends but only have a handful that I consider close. One of them is Mam Flu Garcia, I hold her very special to my heart, she is my mentor and a confidant as well. Mam Flu is one of my former professors in grad school. Our relationship started as any student-teacher relationship, I remember asking permission from her to be excused from her class for a month to visit my husband in Hongkong where he was then based and after that our talks became more personal. During the next few years I would visit her, let her know how I was doing and she would weigh in on what I am planning be it my family life or career decisions. We started going out for lunch or dinner after I graduated maybe twice a year just to catch up. Since leaving PUP two years ago, we lost track of each other and finally reconnected again on the social network Linkedln. We met again this May at Megamall and she recommended that we eat at Amici located at the third level Atrium. I am always in awe how...

The Podium finally has provided its shoppers with fast and reliable Wi-Fi connection, last May 31, 2009, bloggers like me stressed test their internet. Participating in this event is special for me, I brought my family. Since it’s a Sunday the Wifi testing event became a family activity I saw fellow bloggers with their familes, grandmas, kids and even yayas were there. My son enjoyed the event for there were kids to play with. As a family, we brought 2 laptops and a wifi enabled cellphone. My son Lorenzo has a plurk account so he used my laptop while I checked out the connection using a Samsung phone. The connection was fast and did not even faltered since we started @ 2:00pm till 6pm. There were even electric outlets available to charge batteries of laptops. I was impressed the connection, you can even watch youtube, we did that when the kids got restless and watched sesame street and maisy.   I would like to thank The Podium for the pleasant time we had. It was really a bondi...