Cleaning Out My Closet

Ever felt so heavy inside like nothing new and exciting ever seems to happen in your life as of late? How about being overwhelmed by all your possessions and can’t seem to figure out what to do with all of  ‘em? Have you ever stared at your closet full of clothes and still cry “I have nothing to wear!”? Perhaps, you ought to clean out your closet too. Either you give your old stuff away to those who need it more than you do or better yet, earn a little something from them through garage sales.

We held one last Saturday at Irene’s place. It was a cold day and rain was threatening to pour down any minute. It felt much better to just lie in bed and cuddle with my hubby. But my commitment to my agenda got the better of me and I stepped out of bed the moment my little clock hit 8am.

A few hours later, we sped off to Marikina and did our thing. I was hesitant at first because there seemed to be no pedestrians passing by. Who will see our stuff? More importantly, who will buy our clothes, shoes, bags, dvds, magazines, etc? Irene, my ever optimistic girlfriend, convinced me to continue with it. We gave ourselves two hours to make at least one sale. If nothing happens by then, we’ll pack and reschedule our garage sale for next weekend. Possibly change venues as well. That was the plan. After all, we had nothing else scheduled for that afternoon and that was the first time we’ve seen each other in three weeks (last time was during the first meeting of The Ladies’ Club). Alas, the minutes quickly stretched into an hour, and the closest we got to a sale was a guy on a bike who stopped and asked if we had any children’s sneakers. (We didn’t! Darn it!)

One more hour to go…   
                    

Suddenly, at a quarter past one, people from the subdivision started coming in and after only a few more minutes, they were swarming over our things! They were mostly maids, helpers, drivers, even security guards from the subdivision. They haggled like there was no tomorrow. And since our main purpose was to dispose our old stuff, it only took them few pitiful pleas before we said yes to their bargain.                    

Compared to the bulk of assorted things we brought, we didn’t really sell much. (We had A LOT of stuff to sell). Blame it on the rain that suddenly fell after only 45 minutes of selling. But at least, we now had a market and when we come back there next weekend, we might be able to dispose more of our things. It felt quite relieving to be able to let go of clothes and other things that we held on for a long long time, thinking that they can still fit us someday or that they still have some  use.  It’s like  shedding off old skin and allowing a new layer to grow.  Not only were we able to  make space in our closet, not only were we able to  help  those who need them more  by  selling at a super bargain price, but by detaching ourselves from these things, we are opening up ourselves to new blessings. True enough, a day after we held our garage sale, we were able to buy new gadgets (ACER laptop and Creative Travelsound which I will feature next), not because we earned a lot from the garage sale (practically impossible!), but because emotionally and psychologically, we felt lighter…unburdened. I guess at times we really do become owned by our possesions.  Recognizing that and being able to let go is absolutely liberating.  Think about it!

SUKOB mga kapatid!

 seldom if not rarely watch Pinoy flicks. Blame it on the influence of Western culture or simply blame it on our lack of quality Pinoy Films. They really can’t force us, especially the middle and upper class, to patronize their own. UNLESS, they come up with something visually, intellectually and emotionally stimulating that will make Pinoys (across the board) spend their hard-earned peso in exchange for 2 hours worth of enjoyable moving pictures.

Well? Well, THAT is the case with SUKOB — a Pinoy thriller flick starring Philippines’ Drama Princess Claudine Barreto and Game Show Diva Kris Aquino.  Sukob is one of our superstitious beliefs as Filipinos. It is said among the elderly that no relatives must be wed in the same year or incase of death in the family, no weddings can be done until after a year has passed. Lest you suffer an extreme curse and be included in the circle of severe misfortune that has been around for decades and centuries, as evidenced by deaths and missing bodies. This misfortune can only be broken through certain sacrifices that can be as black as the curse itself. Oohhhh, que horror!!! Why am I featuring it in my blog?  I’ll give you three reasons: 

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Of Songs, Laughter and Tears

Friday was nothing spectacular for me. But in many ways, I was at peace. For one, my boss was off to another seminar/training located outside the office. This alone has already made my day complete! With her absence follows my presence in our lunch hour jam with some of my other colleagues in the Human Resources Department. They do this everyday during lunch to de-stress themselves from all the office politics and inhumane workload that they’ve been given. I rarely attend these things because I am THAT wanted by my boss. This day however, turned out to be one of those rare moments when I can simply enjoy my lunch with no hassles involved. I even got to sing!

Secondly, Ninette and I had a movie date at Eastwood that evening. But of course, any date with a fellow girlfriend won’t be complete without some  girl talk! After all, TALKING is really the name of the game when bonding with your girlfriends. So, having checked the movie schedule and having bought tickets, we stayed first at Jak’s Loft (my favorite since year 2001 when I used to work at Etelecare, Libis) for some (supposedly) light dinner. Their Rosemary Panini is still the best one I’ve tasted and there’s really no comparing their Beef/Chicken Stir-fry! Pair this up with their Fishbowl Iced Tea and all thoughts about dieting vanished into thin air! 

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Blue Ginger

After the FGD with Nike, Peter picked me up and headed to Greenbelt for dinner. Anyway, traffic was still quite heavy and we haven’t had anything since lunch. To think that my hubby came all the way from from Ortigas  just to make sure I’m ok and pampered (awww, sweet!). And so, treating him to some hot tasty dinner is the least thing I can do for my baby. 

Let me tell you, it’s been a while since we last went to that area. The last time was  in February I think when papa was home from the States. Anyway, I noticed some new restaurants on the second floor of Greenbelt 3. We walked a while trying to figure out where to eat. We went inside the National Sports Stadium first only to realize that altho they give big servings (to the detriment of our health diet), we found that the pricing was just too high for a simple burger and so we went out again and noticed that beside it is a cozy- looking restaurant — BLUE GINGER.   

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iStories by Nike Women

As an avid blogger, I was tapped by FemaleNetwork(dot)Com to participate in an FGD hosted by Nike. It happened last Tuesday night at Nike’s office in Rufino Tower, Makati and it went pretty well. There were only three of us (me, Tien and Fara) with two other staff from Summit Media (Stephanie and Abby). Nike is basically putting up a campaign for interesting and physically active women to tell their stories and share it with the rest of the world. This will create a global sisterhood that will get you updated and hooked to the lives of other women in the likes of the famous Maria Sharapova like you’re each other’s neighbors/friends. Isn’t that exciting?!  Now girls, please help me do this. Log on to www.nikewomen.com.ph. for more details.

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