mini things ive been doing

tonight i get to breathe.

the rain is worrying me. i dont want another repeat of last year's flooding here in cdo. but aside from this, there are a lot of things to be happy about.

first, my oil and sugar business seem to be picking up! oh yeah, i do sell oil and sugar. i know im fitting right into the teacher-turned-businesswoman mold that most people snicker at but i am enjoying it a lot! there's not much in it. i buy carboys of oil and sacks of sugar, charlie repacks it, i get orders, i bring orders to school. in a day, i get 10 or more orders. its a nice, simple, uncomplicated way to make money on the side. what's funny is that people have begun asking for milk, eggs, biscuits, coffee. haha! you can breathe, i wont sell that. for now.

second, my crazy gwapo husband has been such a totally awesome partner. he wakes up early in the morning and makes me oatmeal, washes my clothes, brings me some orders i cant carry, buys stuff for our little store, makes a fence for my parents, shops for our food, carries my water when we're biking, and totally makes me laugh everyday.

third, our little sari-sari store is not anymore on the verge of becoming a sira-sira store. december was quiet good to us and since then business has been picking up in spite of two other stores right in front of our green one. it helps pay for my cousin's tuition and our electric bills.

fourth, i'm quite enjoying my ch classes now. we're talking of "social responsibility" and its amazing how much sense the kids make even at fourteen and fifteen. i see the love for the country but i also see much disillusionment. and its scary because i see a lot of confusion and kids on the verge of apathy. most of the time i do not think i deserved to be on that platform guiding them towards a compassionate and intelligent view of our situation. i strive to make them "see" and i pray that when the school year is over, they would have greater, practical understanding of what we are going through.

fifth, im getting a dealership in humanheartnature products. i heard about it last year and only gotten up to the inquiry stage. but today, i finally got the courage to get a sample kit. before i sat down in front of the computer tonight, i cleaned up my face with the Tomato and Lemongrass Facial Wash and Toner and Super-Fruits & Black Rice Facial Scrub and finally massaged some Royal Jelly & Aloe Vera Night Moisturizer on my face. i think i over-applied the moisturizer though. haha! my face feels alright. the products smell like you're smearing fruits all over your face. it felt weird. i love the toner coz it does not sting. i will have to try this out for a week and see how my skin responds. gotta try everything before selling it!

sixth, i am finally done with graduate school classes! i completed my academic course requirements and only has to submit some subject requirements which i haven't started work on yet. next in line is Comprehensive Exam and finally Thesis Writing. Hopefully, i can march next March. Charlie has been super supportive and everything in this graduate school hassle i was able to endure has been because of his inspiration. i will surely miss the reporting and laughter and the cool professors. i did learn a lot. i'm far from being a "master" of education but learning everything from the law on the philippine flag to making a 3 year development plan have broadened my perspective and has certainly perked me up from a 7-year stagnation.

seventh, biking has helped me to shape up! charlie bought me a red mountain bike for christmas and we have been biking around the city since then. it was scary at first. it was difficult to make turns and cross streets with all the crazy traffic. but after several days, i've learned to make hand signals and i think other vehicles generally avoid bikes so its quite safe. its really the freedom that makes me like biking as well as going down a hill and coasting. its really "weeeeeeeh!".

so this saturday night is just a great night to breathe and be grateful. whew!