Cyber Gold

ONLINE TREASURES

Not gonna lie--I sometimes feel that retail therapy is better than chocolates. Yup, I said it. And I'm not just talking about venturing out to malls and conquering stores one discount rack at a time. My real weakness is online shopping.

I learned to explore this beautiful realm on the Internet when I was living in the states and didn't have my own car. I would want to shop, but I couldn't exactly hop on over to the nearest mall without transportation. I clearly remember one of my friends, Tutu, who was also an international student and had the same car-less problem, telling me: "Why don't you just shop online?"

Such simple, yet incredibly eye-opening advice! (lol)

That same night, I signed up for the student membership on Amazon.com, and proceeded to buy season one of The Secret Life of the American Teenager (yep, Shailene Woodley pre-Tris), a box of chocolate turtles (I still don't know why I thought of buying that from a website and not just from a grocery store haha), and I believe a book I needed for school that was much cheaper on Amazon. I remember being SO nervous as I was typing my debit card details, thinking I might get scammed! But I went with it anyway, haha.

My package arrived a couple days later, and boy, the sense of accomplishment I felt was massive when I picked it up from the campus post office! 

The rest is history.

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Now that I'm back in Manila, I visit more local online shops. I mean, I could still buy from Amazon.com, or Forever21.com, or wetseal.com, but it would cost me more as I am now halfway across the world and would have to pay extra for international shipping fees.

Thankfully, I've come across awesome and reliable websites here in Manila that give incredible sales with their wide selection of "stuff"! Below are some of my recent finds aka my online treasures:

Lazada.com.ph offered me a Php200 voucher just for signing up for their newsletter! They've got an extensive collection of anything and everything: men and women's fashion, electronics and gadgets, toys for children, home appliances, and the list goes on. LAZADA pretty much like Amazon, which is pretty much amazing.

Lazada.com

And if you're like me and in the constant search for anything sassy and classy, don't skimp out on exploring ZALORA. I've often browsed through this site before and found great discounts especially now with Zalora's Chinese New Year Sale! I got so giddy when I saw they were slashing off up to 80% off! One of the dresses I've been eyeing for a while now has gone down from Php1,099 to Php659. Best believe i'll be taking it!

Zalora.com

Nice to be Nice

The first five people who comment on this status with "I'm in" will receive a surprise from me at some point during this year (2015) - anything from a book, a ticket, something home-grown, homemade, a postcard, absolutely any surprise! There will be no warning and it will happen when the mood comes over me and I find something that I believe would suit you and make you happy. These five people must make the same offer on their Facebook status. Once my first five have commented "I'm in" I will forward this message to you privately, so that you can copy and paste it, and put it on your status, (don't share it) so that we can form a web of connection of kindness. Then message me your address.

I have seen this status (or something similar to it) circulating around Facebook this past year and have always been tempted to put it up on my own Facebook profile wall. But then it kinda died down, and I've forgotten about it until today! One of my good and brilliant friends, Neha (who has just recently graduated but already authored a book!) posted this as her status today and I thought I'd finally give this gig a shot.

But instead of putting it up on Facebook, I decided to share it here, yay! Below, you will find the modified version of the original status stated above. I hope you consider jumping on board with me! :)

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The FIRST FIVE people who e-mail me "Yo, Laura, count me in!" will receive a surprise from me at some point during this year (2015) - anything from a book, a ticket, something home-grown, homemade, a postcard, absolutely any surprise! 

There will be no warning and it will happen when the mood comes over me and I find something that I believe would suit you and make you happy. But if in case we don't know each other on a personal level (yet), feel free to mention in your email your likes and dislikes, just so I can get a more specific idea of what will make you smile!   

Optional: These five people are free to make the same offer on any form of social media. I won't require you to keep this gift-giving going, but it would be wonderful if you could! The idea is to simply spread kindness and love. It's nice to be nice. :)  

Send your e-mails to la.pastores@gmail.com, with the message subject title: "NICE TO BE NICE" (hehe wala ng maisip lelz) If you will be part of the first five, I will reply with a confirmation message (wow parang legit contest lang?! lelz2) and will be asking for your address.

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For my Lolo

In loving memory of my Lolo Pastor
May 25, 1920 - January 14, 2015

Lolo, anong oras na po diyan sa heaven?
Ano pong ngalan ng anghel ninyo?
Babae o lalake po ba?
Gano po katagal paglakbay niyo papunta diyan?

December 25, 2014
Lolo's last Christmas

For as long as I can remember, my Lolo was always the doting kind of grandfather. Whenever we'd visit him in his house in Cubao, he would always make sure there was plenty of food to eat, complete with dessert (usually mocha ice cream bought from the nearby tindahan). Whenever we'd call him over the phone, he would always ask about every little detail of our lives:

Me: Hello po, Lolo!
Lolo: Oh ano, apo ko, kamusta naman ang iyong pag-aaral? (How are your studies?)
Me: Ok naman po, Lolo. A-Student pa rin naman po ako.
Lolo: Mahusay, apo ko. Eh apo ko, ano ngalan ng maestra mo sa iskuwela? (What is the name of your head teacher?)
Me: *gives a name*
Lolo: Ah, eh yun ba Miss or Misis na? (Is she a miss or a misis?)
Me: Misis na yata po, Lolo.
Lolo: Ah eh maiba nga tayo ng usapan apo ko. Anong oras na ba diyan? (What time is it there?)
Me: 6 o'clock po, Lolo.
Lolo: Anong airline sasakyan mo pabalik ng Estados Unidos, apo ko? (What airline are you flying with going back to the US?)
Me: Delta po.
Lolo: Anong rota mo, apo ko? (What's your route?)

You get the idea. :)

When I was younger, I couldn't get why my Lolo kept on asking about every little thing during phone conversations. My dad then explained that it was my Lolo's way of keeping the conversation going because he wanted to stay on the phone with his apos (grandchildren) for as long as he could.

2005 - Lolo with his girl apos :)
(Lolo was never the smile-y type when it
came to picture-taking. I guess he didn't want to show his teeth,
or lack thereof hehehe labyu Lolo)

Lolo makes our birthdays extra special by giving us coin purses every year, with the number of coins inside corresponding to how old we turned that year. 24 years old = 24 coins. 1 year old = 1 coin, lol. Such a simple, cute, and heartwarming gesture. Gotta love my Lolo :)

Lola was also our true war hero. He fought in World War II, survived, and brought with him endlessly fascinating stories from his war experience. Oh, his stories! I once wrote a whole reflection paper about WWII using only the details of the stories he shared with us. (And yes, of course I got an A on it, hehehe) Lolo was our greatest history teacher, our champion story teller (every detail ingrained in his mind as sharp as knives), and the best extemporaneous speaker in the family (he could recite a whole inspirational speech at a drop of a hat--in English, Tagalog, and even in Spanish!). Simply put, my Lolo was pretty amazing.

On August 13, 1997, my Lola (grandmother) passed away. Lola was the ultimate love of my Lolo. So when she went ahead and took a one-way trip to heaven that year, Lolo was devastated. A huge part of him was lost, and we could all tell that his joy and will to live greatly decreased. He wasn't depressed, but it was evident that he felt lonely and was missing Lola every single second of every single day.

But my Lolo was strong. He went on to live 17 more years after he had lost his best friend and partner-in-crime. He would have turned 95 years old this May (95 years old! Whoa and you thought you were old lol), but I guess it was time for him to take that same trip to heaven and finally be reunited with my Lola.

The limit does not exist

I just wanted to share something insanely wonderful real quick to help you truly start your new year right with full of positive energy. This excerpt is from a daily devotional book entitled "Jesus Calling" by Sarah Young, and I am in love with it. The passage below is from last night's reading.

 Devotional Reading for January 06, 2015

"I am able to do far beyond all that you ask or imagine. Come to Me with positive expectations, knowing that there is no limit to what I can accomplish. Ask My Spirit to control your mind so that you can think great thoughts of Me. 

Do not be discouraged by the fact that many of your prayers are yet unanswered. Time is a trainer, teaching you to wait upon Me, to trust Me in the dark. The more extreme your circumstances, the more likely you are to see My Power and Glory at work in the situation. 

Instead of letting difficulties draw you into worrying, try to view them as setting the scene for My glorious intervention. Keep your eyes and your mind wide open to all that I am doing in your life."

This 2015, let's not limit God. Fearlessly believe that this is your year of miracles and answered prayers.
Get excited.

Love,
Laura

New Year's Real-solutions

What's up, 2015?! How YOU doin'?

I was never one to make New Year's Resolutions because I was never one to fully follow through when I do. Guilty.  But this year, I've decided to set some realistic resolutions that could also be considered faith goals. Here they are--my New Year's Real-solutions:

*Not ranked in any order

(1) Less time on social media.
Specifically, less Facebook. Not everything needs to be shared online. I will keep Twitter and Instagram more active, but I just personally feel Facebook be goin' all up in ma bidniz. Too public, even if I set my posts to "just friends".

(2) Start a budget planner.
This is more of a necessity than a resolution, really. I need to get my finances in order, and get smart with my spendings versus savings.

(3) Fill up (and finish) a "Thankful Jar".
A "Thankful Jar" is where you write on a piece of paper what you were thankful for for the day. The goal is to have 365 little notes of thanks and good vibes at the end of the year. I started one last year, but I only managed to go until day 34? Like, come on! Barely a month and a half! Lol. This year, I'm determined to make it til December 31, 2015!

Photo from Christine Trevino's blog

(4) Read more books.
Seriously, I will make time for luxury reading this year. I miss having my nose buried in books!

Photo from YIJ Group, Inc.

(5) Write often.
Doesn't matter if it's a blog post, a journal entry, or a scribble of thoughts on a post-it. I need to just. keep. writing.

http://intentfulgentleman.com/stop-complicating-life-just-bloody-write/

(6) Drive farther distances.
I once got ticketed twice in a span of 20 minutes. True story. That was also the day I got lost, taking C5 to go to Antipolo, and then finding myself in the middle of EDSA... Lololol let's not have that happen again in 2015, shall we? This year, I'm daring myself to become more street smart, literal na "street" smart haha, even if it means putting up with reckless and inconsiderate drivers in Manila. I gotta learn more routes, more shortcuts, and of course, avoid getting ticketed hahaha

I mean, really.