2010 To-Do List

I am a believer that to achieve your goals in life, be it small or large, you must put it in writing. Writing your goals down on paper is one step to making those goals happen. It is another to say it out loud.

From my experience, writing down my goals made it more doable for me. So far, I have done things I think I cannot do simply because I thought about them and wrote it down. Those notes are a reminder of what I can do. It made me confident.

For my self-goals this 2010, there is a checklist in my Belle de Jour planner/journal that I follow. I have already ticked down some off the list but others remain elusive. Those are goals that make me feel good about myself. I already achieved half of my more major goals and that is more than enough for now. Here goes those things I have yet to tick-off from the checklist, after all December is just around the corner.

1. Do something special for your Mom and Dad.
2. Read at least one book.
3. Watch a play.
4. Go to the spa.
5. Go on a retreat.
6. Cook a meal for a special someone.
7. Learn CPR.
8. Visit a museum.
9. Buy a workmate coffee.
10. Watch the sunset.
11. Catch the sunrise.
12. Isolate yourself from the rest of the world for one day.
13. Write yourself a love letter.
14. Hug yourself.

Only fourteen things more left to do. Some I even really want to do for relaxation or to discover something new.

Listing things down really makes me feel happy.

Wish me luck!:)

Tsokoleyt

I cannot resist a good piece of chocolate.

It does not help also that my male boss likes to eat sweets and pastries more than the average sushi-loving guy does. Just now he bought me and the girls at the office some dark chocolate cake and I already consumed one choco-banana bar and a choco-banana shake that he also bought hahaha!:)

Chocolate is one of the many best friends a woman will have in her life. It is beside shoes and bags in the hierarchy of importance. I know only a rare handful of women who do not like eating chocolate. It is the best companion during the start of romance and also while enduring a heartbreak at the end of one. There are many kinds of chocolates you could choose from. You can have it pure, with caramel, with fruit, with nuts and even with chili powder. My choice is always milk chocolate but I feel as I age I better teach myself to love the dark ones as well. Sugar will surely get me one way or the other.

Whoever discovered chocolate for pleasure is pure genius.

Young Smokers

I just heard over the news that smokers nowadays in our country are getting younger and younger. A ten year old boy admitted to smoking 3-5 sticks per day. I recalled what I was doing at that age and I was nowhere near trying to smoke or at least thinking of trying it out.

I must admit though that my first taste of a cigarette stick was at 13 years old on my first year in high school. But I only got hooked to it in my third year of college at 18, with the addiction lasting till I was 25 years old. And it has been a year since I became smoke-free. Something I am truly proud of. Quitting is not hard if you put your mind into it.

When I look back, smoking really does you no good but to get you addicted to a potential health threat. Thinking of all the nicotine that I inhaled in my body and how it is still there makes me shake my head in regret of starting the habit in the first place. Funny how now I tend to get irritated at people who blow smoke my way when I used to be just like them. That is why I do not call their attention to it.

Karma's bitch that way.

But something must be done to prevent children from learning to smoke and smoking altogether. Smoking at a very young age is just wrong. I learned that from experience. I know my smoker friends would get mad at me, but maybe it is really time to increase the cost of one cigarette stick. Just for the sake of the children. A 2.50/stick price range is just like buying 3 pieces of candy for a child. It is just too accessible. I can tolerate adults smoking but I draw the line with children.

I am sure you would not want your future child learning to smoke first way before he or she learns to read.

Children should be playing not smoking.

A Different Celebration

"Para kay Cathy" *BANG BANG BANG!*

It was so surreal.

To see people casually firing guns in salute of someone's birthday. Even if it is fired directly into soft soil, it still is something you will be afraid of. People somewhere in the deep south celebrate life this way. With the use of a gun that ironically takes away life.

A bit scary if you ask me. Almost overwhelming mix of emotions will rush through you. And then you wonder, is it really this easy to hold a gun and fire away in this country?

In the end, nobody really pays notice once the firing stops and the smell of gun powder fades. The celebration continues and life goes on.

High on Peanut Butter!

Well, hello there vulnerability!

Yes, I made that crucial step of actually owning a blog. I have been trying to make a blog of my own for the past 9 years or so, but I was never that serious about it. I do blog via networking sites and that is as far as I can get with it.

What made me do it, in spite of the vulnerability it will bring? My honest answer is I just feel like it or if I may term it in Filipino "wala lang". I was looking for a hobby to start and because I love writing, I thought of just making a blog and actually stick to it this time.

Anyway, as much as the title shows my love for peanut butter (and all things with peanuts in it hahaha!), this blog is not a site for reviews on the different types of peanut butter brands.  The blog would mostly contain my daily musings on life in general with the occasional travelogue, food, movie and product review. Every now and then I may inject some dogmatic views, but rest assured this blog would not be a diary of some sort. I accept vulnerability in the blogging world but not too much.

Enjoy reading my posts!

*Comments are welcomed but personal attacks to the author will not be posted. Only constructive criticism will be accepted.