|no_to_brown_bagging|

this is merriam-webster online's definition of brown bagging.

Main Entry: brown bagging

Function: noun

1 : the practice of carrying (as to work) one's lunch
usually in a brown paper bag

2 : the practice of carrying a bottle of liquor into a
restaurant or club where setups are available

- brown-bag /'braun-"bag/ verb or adjective

- brown bagger noun

i've been introduced in the practice of brown-bag meetings from my previous company. i believe it's where you all gather together supposedly to socialize, talk and eat at the same time. we previously held our brown-bag sessions with our clients to hear out our issues and concerns so that they can easily manage and provide resolution to better serve their outsourcing partners. it was more of socializing and since there were none much issues since we had a good working relationship with them, that only came in second.

now it is of a different case, we have brown-bag sessions every now and then and it's a working lunch. you eat and have lunch together and still continue working. the company does pay for all the good food but it's stressful just the same and it doesn't feel like a break from work as to when you have your usual lunch. with that, i'd say no to brown bagging. but then again, at least it's just once a week, it would kill me to have brown-bags every day.

*****

work is still work though there are some short and sweet idle periods where we can all get to talk and interact with one another within the team. with the testing preparations almost done, were expecting influx of tasks in the coming weeks. here we go again...

*****

i'm not a fan of american idol. i do get to watch it every now and then either when i'm done with my chores or when i get to watch some tv. and so finally the season is over with carrie reigning the winner of american idol season 4. nice.

|ulan_sa_taginit|

we've been getting late afternoon and evening showers since last week. i'd say it's a good thing! the summer heat is slowly dissipating and we have cooler days now. i think we're looking forward to an early wet season in time for the planting. yahooo!

hmmm, i better stop right there for i don't know anything about planting but i noticed that roaches and ants are starting to come out of the cracks and crevices in our home. in other words, they're starting to be visible and annoy me and the other people in the house. good thing i have my handy-dandy baygon with a straw nozzle so that i can get them through the cracks.

going back to my story, i can't make anything out of it but it's what i've been told to observe when we're about to get rain.

*****

i had a grand time at the beach and i'm looking forward to another trip to the beach this weekend for another office-related affair, hopefully the last for this summer.

*****

little by little i've been uploading my pictures to flickr, making sure to organize the pictures in sets and diligently check for people who have made comments on some of them. i've also been organizing my iPod since the playlists seem to be in total disarray and i've noticed typos on some.

|magnolia_the.return.of.a.childhood_sweetheart|

i have to shamelessly admit that i'm an avid fan of magnolia ever since i was a kid. it's the dairy product brand that i grew up with from their fresh milk in glass bottles to their ice cream concoctions that they come up every month which they fondly refer to as "the flavor of the month". as a kid we always looked forward to the big refrigerated trucks of magnolia delivering ice cream to a nearby ice cream store in our street. i also remember waiting for the magnolia vendor delivering fresh milk, chocolate, orange juice (with pulp bits) and mango juice in glass bottles to our doorstep every other day. it was way before magnolia used aseptic tetra bricks for packaging. those were the good old days.

i was surprised to see a comeback of magnolia late last year when i saw fresh milk billboards along edsa, advertisments on tv and magnolia ice cream in supermarkets without bearing the nestle logo. well magnolia never really left the market. in 1998 san miguel corporation divested itself of magnolia to nestle whom they've had a joint venture with since 1960. though smc retained ownership of the magnolia brand, the logo morphed with nestle's and later on was completely replaced by the blue nestle logo. with the return of magnolia after a five year hiatus, they retained their original logo which filipinos can easily identify with so as the classic dairy ice cream and gold label selection. truly magnolia is a brand that is already part of the filipino heritage.

get to read the rest of the manila times news article here.

what's your favorite magnolia ice cream flavor?

|vacation_mode_again|

could it be because of the extreme heat?

i'm on vacation mode again since the week started. i'll be heading to batangas this weekend for an office summer escapade. i'm not that excited much since i know it'll be hot but nonetheless anything that involves water, sand and sea breeze is always a good thing.

-----

tonight will be bowling night at coronado lanes then dinner at masas after the game. this is also known as our office teambuilding activity.

|a.happy_mother's_day|

this blog is for all the moms out there and to my very own.

honestly i forgot it was mother's day yesterday if it weren't for phoebe that i bumped into in eastwood with her fianc� and his family. nothing or no one gave me a hint of the annual occasion so i was ill informed. it's not an excuse though, i know. i guess another way of looking at it to the point of rationalizing is that i may have forgotten all about it but it's because every minute spent with my mom is like mother's day for me.

sunday was such a drag with all the heat. it was extremely scorching hot! awwwwwww!

i went to my previous employer in eastwood to finalize my separation documents, a quick haircut at bruno's and bought advanced screening tickets of star wars for mark at the eastwood cinemas. he's hoping he'd not need crutches by then. we're keeping our fingers crossed. later on, i had to take some work home and spent the rest of the afternoon in front of the computer working on spreadsheets. no fun at all!

before my parents drove me back to the apartment, we had our own mother's day special dinner at home with mom, dad, mark, dave, tess, carissa, yaya mimi and chuck. abel, chel and tiana had been in our home last saturday since they've already made plans of their own for sunday.

as a mother's day treat, i gave her my feta cheese in basil and olive oil that she can toss onto her salads or eat solo with a slice of batard. yup it's pretty obvious that i'm still trying to buy redemption. ���