The Wonder Woman

If you would be a super hero, which super hero would you be?

Fellow TMs and guests, good evening!

In my workplace, they call me – the Wonder Woman!

Not just because I am attractive, I am skillful; I am intellectual…but also because I just wander off!

The answer is just as simple as ABC. It’s just because of my heroic instinct.

Whenever someone calls for help – Wonder Woman is sure to help!

First second you’ll see me at the work station of a colleague manipulating her computer, the next second you’ll see me in the comfort room helping a friend fix her broken zipper, and the next minute you’ll see me in the canteen helping a friend finish her food.

But to those who still wonder, I just give them time to ponder!

Because when they’re done pondering, they’ll not anymore be wondering!

I guess you already know that Superheroes need to put their powers to good use, right?

Just like what my ex boyfriend said “With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility”!

 

And so, I had to be a member of the Fire brigade team. They surely would need my super strength in times of emergency.

I also have to protect the world from climate change so I had to be a member of EPC and make a change.

I am also a ISO/TS 16949 internal auditor so that I can fight for justice and peace. Unsay konek? Well, it’s for you to find out!

Those are just a few things that I do to the company. Don’t you think Lear is just so lucky to have me?

I guess you’re not yet convinced. Now, let me use my hypnotic powers on you then.

Now, say it. “The company is lucky to have you Wonder Woman.” Ok, great!

I still can see people not following me. Watch out, because these people are the actually the villains.

 

But every superhero has its weakness…

As powerful as I am, I admit that when I’m not mentally or physically challenged, I become a WANDER woman. I have a tendency to turn the attention from one subject to another with little consistency of thought. In short, I tend to daydream.

My husband is the number one in the witness protection program. As a couple, we talk about anything - current challenges and of course, our future plans. We just recently had a discussion via Skype over our plans for our second honeymoon as it will be our 10^th wedding anniversary this December. Hand-in-hand we were climbing the Great Wall of China, we swimming together with the dolphins in Cancun, and diving together in the Great Barrier Reef. We were just having the best time of our life  when I suddenly heard a soft voice getting louder and louder. “Hello, hello, hello???”  “Ni-hang and internet??” “Ha? ahhh wala..” “Have you been to outerspace again?” I just gave him my sweetest smile.

I remember one time when I was riding on a tricycle on my way home late at night. You know, I also have to live like a normal person. I was looking at the scenery. The place was so beautiful, like paradise. I saw trees of green, red roses; too, I see them bloom for me and you. And I think to myself what a wonderful world. Then I saw birds singing and lions roaring? Wait. Lions? in Lapu-lapu? The place was not familiar anymore. I looked around and realized that I was already in Cordova – 10 minutes away from our house. Good thing that the driver was not a super villain. He drove me back to my place willingly because of the additional money And, just between us? It happened countless times. (Wink!)

Way back when I was in high school, I was a CAT officer. One of our duties is to be a color officer – to command the flag bearers during flag ceremony. Back then, I was very shy and being in front of the whole high school department was a torture. As I was walking towards the center of the quadrangle with my flag bearers beside me, all eyes were staring at me and they even got closer and closer to me. I used my superpowers to poke all those growing eyes one by one. It was almost over when I heard a loud bang. I just bumped myself into the flag pole. Lucky thing, I am a superhero, I just let myself disappear.

Well, I may wander when I’m weak but I already know how to regain my strength – to continually challenge myself. That’s why I’m here – a superhero trying to be humorous!

This time let me ask you, Pueblo Verde Toastmasters Club members. Are you not lucky to have of me?  Hmmm… I guess there’s no need for a hypnosis then!

First Place 

PVTMC Humorous Speech Contest
AC: The Entertaining Speaker
August 9, 2016

HOT PINK FOOTBALL JERSEY

Since the beginning, the LFC Ladies’ jersey always coordinates with the Men’s. It had been years already of the pink-lovers on trying to win the men’s hearts to concur with the pink uniform, but failed in every attempt. 

~Hey! I'm not the Pink Team’s club president, I’m just one of the many muses. :D~

This time, I'm more enthusiastic to wear a pink jersey in the football field because I feel that it would bring good vibes especially to me. So, I convinced the ladies that we need not match up with the men’s liking anymore. We need not have the same design as theirs.

In pursuit of that pink uniform, although I’m not really that artistic, I tried designing the ladies’ jersey. Ooops! Correction, REDESIGNED -  as the design was 80% of an Edgar Lora’s design.

To show democracy (kuno!), I provided two color options- pink and red (which is a common color in cebu football). An additional option was that if they don’t like the design, then they should submit one ASAP.

Here’s my secret (not anymore, though).

1.      I used “persuade with power” on most team members to vote for pink 

2.      Put “ASAP” to give pressure to those who are not 100% convinced. Nobody wants to be pressured so they’d rather not submit a design.

Of course, the poll result was a landslide. Finally, a PINK FOOTBALL JERSEY! Wooohoooo!!!

The actual uniform was even better than the design, and this made the pink-hesitant ladies  - Kuting, Brooke, and even Maddie (bisan dili mu-angkon) fell for it.

See how ecstatic we were wearing that HOT PINK JERSEY?!

The Buzz: Three LFC Ladies, best in attendance at that, almost spent 700 pesos each just to own this beautiful jersey! :P

9th ECCP Football Cup

The ECCP Football Cup is a yearly football tournament that Lear FC looks forward to. The first football cup was held last 2007 where the LFC Men’s team participated in. It was only in 2010, in its  4^th year, that the ECCP organizers added a Ladies’ category. The LFC Ladies’ Team were ecstatic that they weren’t cheerers anymore this time.  The LFC Ladies teamed up with Lexmark FC Ladies and won Second Runner Up. Other participating Ladies’ team were WiPro, Convergys, and Teletech/Stream, and Aegis/PS.

I wanted to post a picture of the tournament; but when I tried digging pictures from my computer, I could'nt find a single picture of the 4^th ECCP Football Cup. Thus, I resorted to searching pictures in Facebook. It was only then that I realized that I wasn’t able to participate because I was pregnant with my second child. I even remembered that they used to tease me that I need not fret of not being able to join because I was carrying the soccer ball with me anyways.

Joining this year’s 9^th ECCP Football Cup was quite a challenge for LFC Ladies . The “Ate’s” in the group couldn’t make it in the field. Our very committed (yet injured) Team Captain, Ping, already left the company. Our best in practice attendance - Scarlet and Lairee just got pregnant (first-timers), while Brooke needed to usher her in-laws.

It was already a week after the deadline of registration when we were informed that our brothers, the LFC Men, registered without dragging us with them. (hmp!). Fortunately, the organizer still accommodated the Ladies’ team. Despite the fact that the boys left us, we were still thankful to them because we paid 200 pesos less of the registration fee -  a discount given by the organizer for two teams. (Pamiya pamo sunod boys! ;P)

Another good thing, was that it was scheduled in between two HRA Tournament days. Thus, we were able to catch up with our team play. Plus, I felt better knowing that we had two returnees, Carmelyn and Glee, who decided to join because they wanted to experience playing in Abellana Sports Complex and didn’t back out even if the venue ended up in Don Bosco Technological Center.

During the very sunny tournament day on July 19th 2015, only 10 out of 15 players showed up – meaning, there were only 3 substitutes for each 20-minute play!

The day started with a Zumba as a warm up where all the LFC Ladies including the men had fund and enjoyed the dance before the battles began.

Our first opponent was Convergys FC which ended in a draw with 1:1 goals. Actually, I scored two goals on that game – one for Lear FC from a kick in and one for Convergys FC (deflected from my shin)! Sorry guys – “pera na, naging bato pa!”

Sadly though, we were left with 2 substitutes after our first game since our GK, Nancy, needed to go home to attend a very important matter. Nevertheless, we were still hopeful to pull it through till the end!

We won the second game against Bombardier FC with 2-0 goals courtesy of yours truly. One goal was scored from a free kick. The other one was scored from a kick in which was, in fact, noteworthy because the goal toppled down after the ball hit the goal. Not one from the boys made it happen -  a goal to beat indeed! lol :P

The last game was against Fairchild FC where we came out as a victor with 1-0 goal from a kick in courtesy of #17.

The elimination round ended with Audionair FC ranked as 1st in Bracket A, followed by NKC FC while Lear FC ranked as 1st in Bracket B, followed by Convergys FC.

The cross-over game was with our favorite opponent, NKC FC, who beat us with 1:0 goal from a kick in by #20 and eradicated our chance towards the championship game.

The battle for 3^rd was against Audionair FC where we triumphed with 1:0 goal from Maddie – who was very overwhelmed to score a goal for the first time in a tournament! Congrats Mads!

NKC FC finished the championship against Convergys FC with 1:0 goal from #20.

The tournament ended with an unexpected award, “Best in Warm Up”, with us taking home two soccer balls and 15 pieces of car front window sun shades. 

At the end of the day, I was more than happy to have ===>>> the bragging rights, sun-burnt skin, body pains, bruises, lost a few pounds, the longest drive ever, , and most of all the unforgettable experience!

with our very supportive Coach Milord Earl Cabahit

3rd Placer - LFC Beautiful Ladies
Ana Mai, Maddie, Sylvian, Glee, Carmz, Goldee, RiRo, Ireen, Jona

Still happy with 3rd place

 

the winners

Best In Warm-up

My Cheerer!

the take home - medal and trophy

Game Schedule

Up Next: HRA Football Cup – The Cross-Over!

Bad Mommy Moments

Bad Mommy Moments

BS#4 How To Say It

5-7mins.

PVTMC Humorous Speech Contest Piece

September 6, 2013

I, Rina Rose Tacoloy, plead guilty to the charge of being a bad mommy!

               

Can I see the hands of the mommies here?

Have there been times when you can say that you are a bad mommy?

A few times? Many times? I’m pretty sure it is not all the time!

Tonight, I will spill the beans and then you can compare notes!

We all say babies are cute– even though, honestly, we all know that not all of them are!

Agree?

One time, I found my newborn son very adorable after staring at him for a couple of minutes.

I told myself that this boy has a big possibly of making it to the big screen.

What a lucky boy! He surely has gotten the good genes from me!

Then, I thought of taking a picture of the sleeping beauty.

I grabbed my camera and said “smile”.

But when I pressed the button, the camera slipped from my hand and went straight to my son’s forehead.

The sleeping beauty turned into a roaring beast!

Tsk tsk tsk! Bad Mommy!

Babies hate flatulence just like the adults do.

Flatulence is having the gas inside the tummy and we feel pain.

Flatulence really makes my firstborn go wild- so wild that, my father once wanted to take him to the hospital.

As anti-flatulence, I believe in the power of Manzanilla. I believe you are all familiar with it.

There was one episode when his scream really made me panic.

I had to run at a superhuman speed just to get the Manzanilla from the other room and then back to where he was.

As soon as I arrived, I immediately massaged it on his tummy.

After massaging the oil, he screamed even louder!

What could be wrong? And then I realized that the scent was different.

I looked at the bottle. EFFICASCENT OIL -  EXTRA STRENGTH.

Goodness gracious!

I had to bathe him in the middle of the night to remove the efficascent oil from his body!

Due to excessive screaming, he almost lost his voice!

And the next day, he had a red and peeled-off tummy skin.

Tsk tsk tsk! Bad Mommy!

One time when I was babysitting my child, I felt the need to pee.

Since he was sleeping soundly, I sneaked out quickly and went into the bathroom.

When I came back, he was already awake BUT was slowly rolling towards the edge of the bed.

I ran as quickly as I could to catch him.

Unfortunately, my foot got stuck at one leg of the bed and I stumbled before I could reach him.

He had a very big bump on his forehead – thanks to me!

Tsk tsk tsk! Bad Mommy!

  

I plead guilty for being one of the moms who are overextended, exhausted, multi-tasked out and guilt- ridden.

With all this juggling and struggling, certainly a ball gets dropped every now and then.

Yet, I just laugh at my imperfect parenting because I know that every bad mommy moment is a great learning experience!

To my kids – I’m sorry, I’m very sorry, I truly am sorry for being a BAD MOMMY!

Time Check

BS#3 Get to the Point

Title: Time Check

August 12, 2013

Departing guests bound for General Santos City, please check in now to avoid cancellation of your tickets.

Fellow toastmasters and guests, please buckle your seatbelts as I take you for a short yet bumpy plane ride.

“Rina Rose, time to get up!” the sound of my mother’s alarm clock voice resonated in our bedroom early in the morning of July 20th.

I sleepily opened my eyes and glanced at the wall clock.

TIME CHECK: 7:00 AM. (alarm)

 Ohhh mother... it’s still too early. I slept at 1AM.  I already have packed our bags so I don’t need to get up this early. I think I convinced myself so I dozed off again.

“RINA ROSE…” the alarm sounded again!

TIME CHECK: 7:30 AM.  (prep-up)

I got up and prepared myself and the kids. I reminded my mother that we need to leave by 9AM since our flight was at 11AM. She looked confused and said “I thought you told me that our flight is at 1PM”. I said “What? I never told you that. I have the ticket here and it says ETD 11AM”.  My mother tried to insist but since I got hard evidence with me, she had no choice but to agree with me.

TIME CHECK: 9:00 AM. (head towards Rose Pharmacy)

We headed towards Rose Pharmacy near Pueblo Verde Terminal where my husband, who left earlier, was waiting for us.

TIME CHECK: 9:10 AM. (senior citizen)

 We still got plenty of time. The airport is just a 15-minute ride.

After a short while, a vacant taxi cab arrived. We grabbed our bags and walked towards the cab. To our surprise, the “konduktor” let the two senior citizens, who just arrived by the way, get in the cab.

We patienly waited again

TIME CHECK: 9:40 AM. (yellow taxi)

Unluckily, the taxi cabs which passed by were all occuplied. I started to worry. Suddenly, I saw a yellow taxi cab approaching. I thought of the fare difference, but before I could decide, it had passed us by.

We were arleady getting impatient but we were still hopeful.

TIME CHECK: 10:00 AM.  (jeepney rental)

Waiting was not anymore an option. I decided that we go to the terminal and rent a jeepney. We did and it cost us 150 pesos. Well, we got no choice and even got no time to haggle.

TIME CHECK: 10:15 AM.  (marina mall)

The jeepney didn’t have access to the airport area so we had to stop at Marina Mall and rent another jeepney. It cost us another 130 pesos. During the short ride, we made a quick plan that as soon as we arrive, I will immediately go to the check in counter and just leave them to take care of the kids and the bags.

TIME CHECK: 10:20 AM.  (arrival at the airport)

Finally, we arrived at the airport. I swiftly ran towards the departure area then towards the check in area. I looked for the GENSAN signboard but could find it. OMG, maybe the check-in counter had closed.  

What shall I do? What shall I do?

I went to a nearby check in counter. I didn’t mind bypassing those who were in the line just so I could talk to an airline crew to ask if I could still check in because there’s no more GENSAN counter. She looked at my ticket and just told me to go to any available counter.

What? Maybe they don’t allow bypassing.

 So I went to another counter with only two passengers in line. I was wondering where my companios wereso I tried calling my mother and my husband but to no success. I looked at the entrance and saw them giving a signal. TICKET! OMG. They weren’t able to get in because the ticket was with me. I quickly ran towards them, handed the ticket to the guard, and ran back to the check in counter. It was already my turn when I got back. I felt relieved when the crew asked for our IDs after I handed him our ticket. Surely, we still have a plane to ride on. Maybe it’s still boarding time, I thought. Then the crew asked me where the baggage for check in was. Oh-oh, I forgot that I had to check in my mom’s luggage. I had to look around to give a hurry-up signal to my mother.

TIME CHEK: 10:50 AM. (boarding time)

At last, I had the tickets. Boarding time, I thought. My husband asked where we should go and I said to gate no. 8 as what I heard from the crew. So we headed towards gate no. 8. When we arrived at gate no. 8, we couldn’t see GENSAN signboard. We approached one of the crew and she told us it’s at gate no. 5. Without delay, we headed towards gate no. 5. When we arrived there, we asked one of the crews if the passengers for GENSAN had gone aboard, and he said “not yet”. Thank God. What a relief!

TIME CHECK: 11:00 AM.

Possibly, the plane hadn’t arrived yet, I thought. We felt very lucky.

We sat down and took the time to catch our breath. I took a good look at the boarding pass I was holding all along. My eyes couldn’t believe it. I read aloud for my mother and husband to hear. “Boarding time - 12:30 PM. Gate No. 5”. I then called my sister who booked our flight trying to trick her that we were left behind by the plane. To my surprise, she was the one who told my mother that the flight was at 1PM but forgot to mention that it was rescheduled. She assumed that I got the same text message from the airline.  

What a twist of fate. In the end, we were too early for our flight.

Through this experience, I learned a lot of things.

1. Time is really gold. We had to spend too much just to make it in time.

2. It is important that complete information is disclosed to relevant persons.

3. It is necessary to counter check the flight details prior to the actual flight.

4. Keep focused. If we didn’t panic, we could have thought of reading the boarding pass.

To all the passengers, let me inform you that we have just arrived at our destination. You may now unbuckle your seat belts. Thank you for flying with me.

@ Bagged the Best Speaker of the Night =)

My Spices

BS#2 My Spices

03.03.2013

7 mins 11 sec.

Do you like curry? Do you use pepper on your food? Do you love the smell of the cinnamon on your bread?

Good evening fellow TMs and honored guests.

Many people use spices on food to enhance the taste and boost the flavor profile.

I would like to share with you three of my chosen spices which add excitement and flavor to my life.

Well, having a family and having kids is my number one spice, but I will not include this in my speech today because I will make another speech for this soon.

NUMBER 1 – I’M ENGAGED INTO SPORTS.

I play football.

In Lear, we have a football club and we have a ladies team. Fortunately, we have a small playing field at the back of this building where we can have fun playing the beautiful game. We have set our Wednesdays for practices – wishing that my playmates are available and weather is favorable. To make it more fun and exciting, we join inter-corporate football tournament.

I do some running.

I have just finished my first 21K run last January during the Cebu Marathon - thanks to the free slot and to my husband’s coaching and constant encouragement. Two of the reasons why I run are, first, to accommodate vacated slots which are for free, and second, to please my husband who is a running addict.

I play volleyball.

I learned to play volleyball two years ago when PETC had its first inter-department tournament. I didn’t really get a chance to love the game until then. Now, I’m looking forward to another volleyball tournament because it’s only the time that I get to practice and play.

I play basketball but not in a game. I just do some dribbling and shooting sometimes with my husband – still at the back of this building. Well actually, I remember I have joined the inter-department basketball tournament seven years ago. And I remember that I was already fouled-out in the third quarter. Maybe I get too “physical” when I play.

I have played badminton once – and it was during a tournament. One of my colleagues backed out the day before the tournament and left an eager player without a partner because they were supposed to join the doubles division. Because I am one of the sports-minded persons in our department, I was approached if I could be the replacement. I hesitated because I don’t have a racket, I have never played badminton, and I don’t even know the rules. Yet, I was convinced because somebody would lend me a racket and would give me a one-hour crash course on the basics of the sport. And so I played my very first game during a tournament with only guts and an hour of practice with me. Did we win? Unfortunately, we lost on all games because aside from my lack of experience, I didn’t get a chance to play with my partner. I might have lost in the games but I believe I would have won the “Best Inexperienced Player” award – if there was such a special award.

NUMBER 2 – I SUPPORT NON-WORK ACTIVITIES IN LEAR.

I have been working for Lear for almost 8 years already; yet, I can say that my stay hasn’t been boring.

Why? Because I try to blend in some activities which are not part of my work routine.

I am a member of the Fire Brigade Team. Currently, we are practicing for the Inter-MEPZ Fire Fighting competition which will be held this March 23^rd where I am part of the women’s team for the busted-hose division. I am happy to be able to play with dirt and water again and I don’t get to be scolded.

I am also a member of the PETC Choir. This club was born because we celebrate first Friday masses here. But, don’t assume that I have a good voice. Just like Fresah, I just love to sing.

Dancing is one of my passions. Whenever there’s an opportunity, I would make myself available for it. Last year, I joined the inter-MEPZ cheerdance competition even if I was one of the committees during the opening of the HRA Sportsfest.

With regards to company’s corporate social responsibilities such as tree planting and coastal clean-up, expect me to be there.

NUMBER 3 – I ENGAGE MYSELF WITH SELF-IMPROVEMENT ACTIVITIES

I go to school every Saturday for my post graduate education. I am taking my masters in science in management engineering in USJR and I plan to wear a mop on my head, I mean, to graduate on March 2014.

In MS education, we do a lot of reporting in front of the class. One of the reasons why I joined Toastmasters is to gain confidence in public speaking so I can deliver my report very well. Also, I am enrolled in a thesis program, so I want to be really confident by the time I defend my thesis.

I remember that Gina had been sharing her joy in toastmasters. Although I was interested, I had been financially challenged during that time, even until now. But what really made me decide was a statement from one of my professors. She said, “I don’t understand why other people spend so much on gadgets and not on self-improvement”. That really did hit me. So you see me right now, delivering my basic speech number two to improve my communication skills.

Spices add excitement, give a different experience, and add appetite. We have different preferences on the spices, yet, the most important thing is that we enjoy and have fun savoring our chosen spices - then we can say that life is indeed worth living.

Extra Challenge

BS#1 (11/23/2012)
“Extra Challenge”


There’s a Filipino reality TV show called Extra Challenge where participants are taken to the edge of personal endurance amid never-before-experienced challenges.
Tonight, I would like to take all of you to the show where I am the main cast.

I was still in college with my batch mates when I first set foot in Iligan. One of the places we toured was the Initao Park where we saw people jumping off a cliff and landing in the sea. The cliff was more than 20m high and the depth of the sea was unknown. One of my friends who was a local said that he had tried it before so we felt assured that it was safe. He volunteered to take the photograph so that all of us could do the jump. After our photographer gave his signal, I wanted to jump already, yet, I couldn’t move. The next second, I saw my classmates, who were all boys by the way, jumping off. I didn’t want to be out of the photo so I pushed myself to lean forward and pull my feet off the ground. It took like forever being in the air and feeling the gravity pull myself down. I had even asked myself several times when I was going to reach the sea. When I finally did, the gravity still kept pulling me down until I felt my butt touch the ground. Yes, I was already at the bottom of the sea. I had no idea how deep I had gone and how long I could hold my breath so I flapped my arms and kicked strongly while praying hard not to drown because my parents would surely kill me if I would. And when I saw the clouds and realized that I was already able to breath, I really thanked God I was alive.

I also remember when my hubby and I were still dating. He told me that he had eaten frogs and rats they’d caught from the rice field. He promised that one day he would let me try them. One day during a vacation in their province, my hubby arrived with excitement on his face. He was bringing a pack and proudly said “I really captured and cooked these just for you”. Sweet, right? When he transferred the pack into a bowl and the content was revealed, I wasn’t sure of what I saw so I asked “Are those frogs?” and he said “Yes” with a big smile on his face. Three decapitated fried frogs lay in front of me waiting to be munched. The smell of the garlic was overpowering so I was telling myself that the taste shouldn’t be bad. I first took a teeny weeny bite. Indeed, it tasted like fried chicken as what I’ve heard. And because it tasted good, I enjoyed eating all three of them.

The last challenge I would be sharing happened just last year.
In Lear, we have this yearly CIP or Continuous Improvement Project goals to be accomplished before the year ends.
The challenge was that if a team would achieve their goals by October they will be awarded and the leader of that team will be awarded as well.
Aside from that, the director promised to give an additional reward.
When I was appointed as the team leader of our section, I really told myself that I have to receive an award and our team have to receive an award.
Our team identified as many proposals as possible and pushed ourselves to reach the target before October.
The proposals that would make us reach the goals involved excel macro, yet, nobody from our team knows how to work on it and nobody is available to teach us even the basics of it.
Motivated by the reward, I educated myself with excel macro with the help of tutorials available in the internet and applied them to our identified projects.
I am very proud that our team was one of the awardees for the 2011 CIP Team and I was one of the awardees of 2011 CIP Team Leader.
However, I would have been more proud telling you this story if the reward was Trip to Afghanistan.

An extra challenge may be a physical test, mental test, or psychological test.
When you are able surpass every extra challenge, you feel a different kind of satisfaction.
How about you, would you be willing to be a cast of your own Extra Challenge?
Or would you rather be the host?

I am New to Badminton

I receive invitations from different colleagues to play badminton.
My sister, An-an, also encourages me since she plays badminton even in UK.
Even if I love new challenges, especially new sports, I say NO every time there’s an invitation.
Yes, a NO from me is unusual.
I would love to discover this sport, only that, I couldn’t afford being into this sport.
For me, it is costly.
Firstly, rental fee per day at Top Smash is 75 pesos- the cost for 2-3 meals.
Secondly, shuttlecock will be bought every play day as the feathers are brutally battered.
Thirdly, I don’t have a racket and it would cost me a fortune to buy it.

One fine day, Sharie, along with other IMDS colleagues who are also beginners invited me to flock with them as they are planning to join Mabel’s Badminton Cup.
This tournament is organized by for Lear employees by Amabel, HR country manager,  which is held every year.
I almost said YES because of my tendency to do so, but due to my hectic weekly schedule –volleyball, football, assignment in MS studies, child rearing- I said NO because I couldn’t find a time to practice.
I barely know the rules and how to play the sport – aside from the knowledge that a shuttlecock is to be hit towards the opponent and that it should go over the net.

Another fine day, Jordan called me and asked me be Grace’s partner for Women’s doubles since, Junneffer cannot come to play as she will go “island hopping” together with other IMDS colleagues and Gerry from the US.
I will not be spending for the rent and shuttlecock and Jordan will lend me his racket.
I told Jordan that I have never played badminton in my entire life.
He said it is okay and will just teach me the basics and said that I am a fast-learner so it wouldn't be a problem.
It was a day before the tournament.
Yet, I was convinced to say YES.

And so September 9 came - the day of the tournament.
I went to Top Smash two hours earlier than the tournament to have a one-hour crash course with Jordan.
I was basically an ignorant to the sport so he started teaching me with the basics - how to hold the racket, how to do a serve, how to receive, how to smash, and some rules of the game.
And because I only had one-hour training, I was forced to learn fast.
The next challenge was to play with a partner.
However, Grace arrived just a few minutes before the start of the tournament.
Good thing, there were courts not used for the tournament so we were able to grab a few minutes to practice with each other.
Guts and positive thinking were our only ace!

We only played thrice since Beginners were divided into two brackets.
Well, we lost in all our matches – what do you expect?
We may have lost in our games, yet, I am still a winner because I have finally played BADMINTON and had so much fun doing it.

I would love to pursue this sport, yet, I would need someone to sponsor the cost. =)

The Number 31

31.
The last number you could find in the calendar.

The last number that you could find your age in it.

If not all, then, most of the people who reach 31 would associate it with the last number in the calendar.

The age you could still be considered “young”.

And when your 31st year is over, you will be looking forward to age 40.

Why? It is because of the saying “Life begins at 40”.

It’s when you would feel young again.

When my 30th year was almost over, I was thinking what I must do to remind me of my 31st birthday.

It made me think of giving myself a pixie cut since short hair makes you look young.

But was I ready for it?

Honestly, I wasn’t.

I haven’t tried it since I was 5 years old – the time my hair was cut by my childhood friend because the bubble gum I ate was stuck in my hair.

However, I was determined to do it.

Anyways, it won’t take long to grow it back.

I then searched the net for a model showing off her pixie cut.

I chose Carey Mulligan’s picture and saved it in my phone.

I also asked Mais what salon gives a good haircut.

She suggested Salon de Rose and David’s Salon.

And so, after my MS class, Tacs and I went to David’s Salon at E-mall.

I prefer gay hairdressers for their known talent, unfortunately, there was none in that salon at that time.

And it scared me. More so when I knew that their hairdresser was a male.

When it was my turn, the hairdresser asked what hairstyle I liked.

I showed him the picture from my phone.

He said “mu-bua gud” seeing my almost-two-feet-long hair.

When he grabbed his pair of scissors, my heart was pounding very fast.

I drew my attention to the magazine I was holding until it was over.

And when it was over, I looked at the mirror, looked at Tacs, and asked him if it was okay.

He had a big smile and nodded.
In just minutes, my years-long hair was gone and the “new me” appeared!

I am 31 years old and I am young!