Penned by Sterndal

Baby Anya

sterndal — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 11:03:47 +0000

My favorite girl’s name is Marie because it sounds sweet and innocent. However, when my sister-in-law asked me to suggest a name for her baby, my first niece, the first name that came to my mind was “Vienna.” Armi immediately liked the name but there was one problem. She said it sounds like a brand of canned sausage and she worried that people will someday tease her daughter. But when I told her about my online friend whose name is Vienna and who is currently based in Austria, she was amazed so we made a long list of names that would rhyme with Vienna:

Venice Vienna
Vienna Christine
Vienna Angela
Eidelle Vienna
Alyssa Vienna
etc.

So there, my newly born niece’s name is Vienna Rose A. Vargas We are still undecided if her nickname’s going to be Eros or Anya. My brother likes Eros because it means God of Love in Greek mythology. My sister-in-law likes Anya because it means grace. Our mother likes Ayen, my sister likes Ina, while neighbors have already started calling my niece as Enyang. Well, I hope it’s Anya but whatever it is, one thing is for sure, Vienna Rose is very pretty and she doesn’t look like a vienna sausage HAHA! She looks a lot like her late grandfather which means to say she’s the xerox copy of my brother! At the hospital, the nurses were calling my niece “Valentina.” When asked why, they said her name, Vienna Rose, reminds them of Valentine’s day. Coincidentally, Baby Anya was born on the love month - February.

A laptop that fits the bill

sterndal — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 09:09:49 +0000

Because I don’t want to spend a lot of money in computer rentals, all of my posts are hand-written first in a piece of yellow paper or any other kind of paper - tissue, receipts, etc. In this way, I wouldn’t have to rent for a very long time in the internet cafe thinking about what I’m going to write. One hour is enough - 15 minutes for typing and editing, and then the remaining 45 minutes I use for blog hopping, commenting, and visiting my account in Friendster.

Sometimes, I use colorful ballpens to get me in the mood for writing. But I often use mongol pencil because it allows me to edit/erase without making the paper dirty. Also, my pencil should be newly sharpened and the paper should be super clean and without crumpled parts.

This has always been my blogging routine and laughingly, I’d been comfortable with this set up for more than a year. LIAR! Hehe. Of course, it’s such a hassle to go in the internet cafe just to update my blogs especially when it’s raining. That is why I am now planning to buy a pre-owned laptop. Specs: 512MB, 15″ LCD with built-in wifi. Budget is 10K. Target date is on or before March 2010.

We know you want a bolder paper person

Goal for 2010

sterndal — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 15:46:58 +0000

In spite of the financial pressures that I went through last year, I still would like to report in my journal that 2009 was a good year for me. Well first, I was able to acquire my own domain. Second, my first nephew was born. Third, my total annual income is higher compared with the previous years although the expenses still exceeded the earnings. And then I also met a few nice friends and I have a good feeling they are for keeps.

Of course, I’ve also had some disappointments. Like not being able to meet my target blogging income and not being able to find a new job. But I’m not losing heart. In fact, these disappointments are just pushing me to work doubly hard so that 2010 will be better than 2009 In no particular order, here are my goals:

make time for my blogging activities. I really intend to update my posts at least twice a week.
get a new job - the kind that I really love doing. I’ve already gotten tired of being a QA.
try my luck in freelance writing - I’m not sure if I have the talent but there’s no harm in trying, right?
go back to school or at least get a TEFL certificate - this one’s a bit complicated as it will require time and money, lots of money.
learn how to swim - only optional. Maybe if things get too boring, I might enroll in an inexpensive swimming class.

Reading aloud baby books

sterndal — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 00:45:38 +0000

Because I really want my 3 months old nephew to learn how to speak English, I’ve already started reading english books to our baby hoping this will acquaint him with simple english words and phrases. First, I tried Like Water for Chocolate (it was the only available english book in our house at that moment) but in the middle of reading it to him, I realized that the narrator talked about things like sexual desires, anger, unrequited love, etc., which are very inappropriate for minors, particularly for a 3-month old baby boy so I changed the book to The Birthday Burglar and A Very Wicked Headmistress. It’s just so funny because Baby Timberland kept on giggling and cooing while I was reading Tita’s recipe for Christmas Rolls, as if he already understood those things :) Honestly, I couldn’t find any book in my cabinet that suits his age. Margaret Mahy’s The Birthday Burglar and A Very Wicked Headmistress is suitable for children whose age are 10 years old and above. But I still tried to read him more grown-up books like Hannah’s Gift and Rain and I think he loves it! He likes it! He keeps on staring at my face specifically at my lips and he laughs and makes ”ooh-ooh” sounds. My mother, his grandmother, is against this because according to her, there is a proper age for studying and a conducive place for learning. She even cited my younger brother as an example. She enrolled him in kindergarten at the age of 4 (instead of the usual 6) and he became a consistent honor student but he also easily lost his interest in school. Of course I consulted this to Timberland’s mother, my sister, and she doesn’t mind as long as I don’t read to him my collection of Pugad Baboy Comic Book.

Something about swimsuits

sterndal — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 04:06:34 +0000

My best friend thinks I’m weird and funny (but she told me that it’s also the same reason why she chose me to be her best friend). One time, we went to a beach resort where women are required to wear proper swimming attire such as one-piece, tankinis or bikinis. The trouble with me is that I didn’t want to wear a bathing suit because I was too conscious of my body and I worried that people will only make fun of me. She told me that the other girls will not laugh because they are also wearing swimsuits and that they don’t even know us so they’d probably won’t notice our presence. I remember she was laughing really hard while explaining those things to me.

Honestly, I really like sexy string bikinis (but not the T-back type). I find them beautiful and very feminine especially when worn at white beaches during summer. I sometimes wish I had the body of Adriana Lima, the famous Brazilian model, so that maybe I’d feel comfortable wearing the black bikini which I’ve kept hidden for a very long time. My best friend is asking me “when are you going to wear that? when you turn 50? Haha!” I’m not really updated when it comes to summer fashion trends but of course I know that it’s so passé to wear shorts and t-shirt in the beach. I love swimsuits but I still need to gather more guts.

Just a few reminders

sterndal — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 23:46:15 +0000

Blogtoprofit: I need to re-submit sterndal dot com. Apparently, my blog was rejected due to “copying contents from other sites” which is totally silly! I sent an e-mail to the admin explaining a few things and luckily, I got a reply from them telling me that they are willing to re-evaluate my blog Weeh!

ATM: I’m already running out of cash (just 120 pesos in my wallet!), have to withdraw asap! I also need to drop by the supermarket to buy diapers and other baby supplies, then go to Meralco to settle our electricity bill. I’m just thankful that I already paid Mrs. Money-Eater in full last payday so I don’t have to see her face tomorrow and hopefully forever. Never again will I allow myself to be treated like a common criminal. No sir, no ma’am! (mimicking a character from one of VC Andrews’ novels).

NSO/SSS: Having trouble with my membership in social security systems. The clerk said my SSS number/ID is just temporary because I haven’t submitted my birth certificate yet. HUH?! But I already gave it to them four and a half years ago! GRRR! I was told that if I want to apply for a salary loan, I have to give them my NSO certified birth certificate. So okay fine. But I’ve already lost my copy so now I need to request for a new one.

Passport: I can feel it! My dreams of working abroad are starting to realize. It was not that impossible as I have first imagined. When the angel told me about it, I honestly thought it was too good to be true. But, you know, opportunities come unexpected and in cluster. First, there is a chance of working in Korea (initially as a TNT but my friend’s friend’s friend promised to help me find a tutorial job as soon as I get there). Then, there came another one which is not sure yet but the mere fact that the angel considered me for this opportunity is enough to keep me joyful for the past few days I think it means she considers me as a friend! Anyway, I’m getting a passport, just in case any of the two will push through.

Dental We’re already two months late for our cleaning and check-up. I need to phone my dentist’s secretary to ask for an appointment not only because Mom is already freaking out but I’m also paying a small fortune for my and my mother’s medicard. I don’t really want to use our health insurance because that might mean being terribly sick, but dental is different, doesn’t necessarily mean we have cancer.

A Penchant for Video Games

sterndal — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 23:21:03 +0000

It seems that my brother has already gotten tired of Counter Strike. Now all he wants to do with his PS2 is to play Madden 10. He’s so addicted to it, he knows the name of each character. Unlike Counter Strike, Madden 10 is not about shooting and killing people. It is a realistic video game based on the national football league of America. This game is not really violent so my mother no longer freaks out everytime Jason brings his friends to our house to play PS2.

For as long as I could remember, Jason’s strong liking for video games started when he was still a little child and he simply didn’t outgrow it and would probably never outgrow it. Playstation, X-Box, Nintendo, etc. Name it, he knows how to play it. He even knows the requirements on how to install such games in his PC even if he’s not an IT graduate. One time, I asked him if all his salaries are just going to those webgames. He’d buy prepaid cards every week just so he can play, not just Madden 10 but a lot of other videogames as well. I was surprised to know that he is able to get free games from the web. He said, there are a lot of interesting games in Yahoo that come for free.

Aunt Nerizza’s Future is so Bright

sterndal — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 13:39:02 +0000

Aunt Nerizza phoned yesterday to share the good news. She’s been applying for a teaching job in the US and after a couple of months of communicating with her sister, Aunt Leticia who is also a teacher for special children in San Diego, CA, she finally got a job in a small learning center in Houston. My mother turned on her cellphone’s loudspeaker so we can all listen to her story. There was no doubt on how happy and excited she was. Just two years ago, she went to Taiwan to teach grade school students but went home shortly after three months because the employer, unfortunately, wasn’t paying her wages right. As far as I know, her salary should be 500 dollars as per contract, but she only got 200 dollars or so. To cut the story short, she went home peniless and depressed. But now, she’s once again full of hopes and dreams. In fact, she already has a lot of plans.

First, Aunt Leticia told her that she needs to learn how to drive. Since, driving lessons are too expensive in the US, she will have to enroll in a driving class here in Manila. Apparently, there are no jeepneys and tricycles in Houston and getting a cab everyday to get to work would be very expensive. She needs a car but Aunt Leticia promised that she’ll take care of it. Second, she needs to find a nice place where she could stay, not necessarily luxury apartments in Houston but just somewhere safe and comfortable. She’ll be all by herself the moment she arrives in Houston because Aunt Leticia won’t be there to assist. But finding Houston apartments wouldn’t be that hard. There are websites in the internet that can help, such as houstonapartmentlocator.org. Third, she needs to spend a lot of time with her son, Hans Christian. Two years without vacation leave is too long, the four year old boy would surely miss his mother.

During Aunt Nerizza’s call, we sensed that she’s not 100% happy with the opportunity. She had emphasized over and over again that if only Hans’s father didn’t passed away too soon, she wouldn’t even think of working abroad. Mothers, you know, they always think about their child/children’s future. She has a lot dreams, she wants her son to study college in America someday, Harvard if possible As of this writing, she still has one month to bond with her son and watch her favorite television programs such as CNN and National Geographic.

Page Rank 1 is not so bad

sterndal — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 05:50:05 +0000

The four long months of waiting is finally over. My other blogs got PR too. All PR1 but I’m fine with that considering that I’m not exactly deserving even for page rank 1. I didn’t work much. I was too lazy to write new posts and although I was able to get a list of high ranking directories from a friend, I didn’t find the luxury of time to manually submit all my four blogs. Thing is, I’ll have to register and confirm the submission through e-mail one by one and unfortunately, I can only stay online for less than an hour everyday. I got other important things to attend to. I also asked a number of bloggers to exchange links with me but either they ignore me or they’d add me only to delete me after a few days or so. I have no idea what went wrong. I made sure their links were visible in my sidebar. So, there, I was discouraged to fill up my Blogroll. Good thing, Miss Vienna, Miss Ruthi and Kaye offered to exchange links with me. Makes me wonder why it was a lot easier back then to ask for exlinks? It only took me a few days to get 80 exlinks for my first blog. Now it’s taking me forever to get 20! Mmmm. I have an idea. I have a bad record. Haha! I used to talk to a lot of bloggers, telling them “exlinks please” and most often than not, I got a shining, shimmering, splendid “Yes, sure” in my chatbox. But, you know, I easily forget about a lot of things. Like awards, tags, memes. Nobody really complained, but I have a bad feeling I wasn’t able to add them all. Could it be that they don’t want to add me now because they think I don’t keep my word? I hope not. Anyway, PR1isn’t that bad, I can always wait for the next PR update.

Re-reading VC Andrews

sterndal — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 16:27:29 +0000

To satisfy my love for reading, I always save a part of my salary for buying inexpensive books and magazines. This allows me to purchase anything that goes on sale at National Bookstore, Booksale and Buy-the-Book. I’m not exactly a big fan of VC Andrews, it doesn’t matter to me who wrote the book, I’d buy literally anything that catches my interest. But I find her writing style entertaining and the words used are often simple, which means to say I don’t have to constantly check my dictionary for definitions I’ve also read Sheldon’s and Rice’s novels but theirs are not cheaply priced and I’m honestly limiting my monthly budget to 500 pesos.

We will have a 3-day vacation for the Holloween and all I want to do for the holidays is to read, read, read! I missed reading! Since I started blogging last October 2008, that hobby has been put aside. I used to read at least one novel per week, now it’s amazing if I’d finish a book in a month. But I’m really going back to reading. Not that I’m giving up blogging. I just don’t want to forget my first love.

My budget for this month went to “The Frank Family that Survived.” It’s a great story, I cried over the fact that it was based on a true story. It also made me want to read “The Diary of a Young Girl” by Anne Frank but that’ll have to wait. For now, I want to re-read all family series of VC Andrews.