photo credit: Morriganfotografie

Based on wikipedia:

Burnout is a psychological term for the experience of long-term exhaustion and diminished interest. Research indicates general practitioners have the highest proportion of burnout cases (according to a recent Dutch study in Psychological Reports, no less than 40% of these experienced high levels of burnout).

Psychologists Herbert Freudenberger and Gail North have theorized that the burnout process can be divided the into 12 phases, which are not necessarily followed sequentially: (my comments in parenthesis)

A compulsion to prove oneself
(I feel like I need to. I’m nearing 30s and I feel like I haven’t accomplished anything.)

Working harder
(I’ve been working too hard these past few weeks. There are just so many things to do and the responsibilities aren’t letting me shit go away)

Neglecting one’s own needs
(I’ve tried to provide luxury for myself but the necessity to help around the house wouldn’t exactly fit the bill as finances aren’t that well)

Displacement of conflict

- the person does not realize the root cause of the distress
(Yes, I’ve been here. I shrugged it away thinking it just might be stress)

Revision of values – friends or hobbies are completely dismissed
(Something has to crossed out of my equation if I ever want to sleep, which I do. But gaaaah… depressing)

Denial of emerging problems – cynicism and aggression become apparent-
(I apologize to the people around as I’ve been snapping at everyone and had emotional outbursts just recently. The pressure finally came in)

Withdrawal – reducing social contacts to a minimum, becoming walled off; alcohol or other substance abuse may occur
(Come to a point I don’t want to get up from the bed and actually see people.)

Behavioral changes become obvious to others
- Inner emptiness (Suddenly becoming eerily quiet…)
- Depression (Suddenly cries from the pressure…)
- Burnout syndrome (Aahhhh… now we know….)

Hell of a life >___________>

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Whew! Last Sunday was fun!

This trio girl bonding made me tired at the end of the day… good tired! We discovered new stores, took a lot of random pictures, and dined on a fancy restaurant at A.Venue.

First, we started the meet-up buying some stuff, withdrawing from atm’s, eating macaroni soup in Jollibee ( it was Denok’s breakfast, in mid-afternoon! pfffft XD ) and had a random photo spree at Greenbelt park.

If you need money, go to her *points*.

It seemed to be a routine of mine to take random shots of anything and everything under the sun as long as it interests me. Nature, textures, creatures, etc. As long as I can take a shot of it, I’ll do it. I guess this is what having a digicam means. ^^

After Denok’s mid-afternoon breakfast, we headed to Greenbelt park. While denok fixed her contacts in the comfort room, me and Joan tried our skills in taking a good photo of the fishes from the park’s pond. We both don’t have any professional photo classes, so we took our chances but gaaah, it didn’t really come out right.

Fishes in Greenbelt pond.

It’s hard to take pictures of moving creatures.

So instead, I took a video and the output was better. I may not have a steady hand but the video made me feel watching an aquarium channel. (Unfortunately, I’m having a hard time uploading in youtube. Will update when successful.)

Below are shots of us in the park. I included shots of leaves, bamboos and other stuff. I thought it might be neat to take shots of some textures to possibly use in the future from my own self-made stock photos. ^^

By the bamboo area...

Joan and Denok by the bamboo area...

Me and Joan...

Wow... good shot Denok! Love the towering bamboo effect! It looked like we were in the province. ^_^

A shot of a part of Greenbelt part. Amazing landscaping...

Part of the pond...

Oooh. Green everywhere...

For dinner, we went straight to A.Venue. It was Denok’s first time in the mall so she asked for a short tour of the place. We discovered this shop called “Vint” and it had all sorts of cool authentic, vintage stuff! You name it, they got it!

Old telephones, old toys, old radios, old polaroids, old diving gears, old books (some dating back 17th century!), old clocks, old toasters (some actually work!), old suitcases, old couches (they looked rusty and dirty but they were really comfortable) and more! It was like another world in there. I truly believe antique collectors would find the place a treasure cove. Of course, the prizes are quite steep but if we are going for truly vintage products, I think the items are worth the purchase.

We were not allowed to take pictures of everything in the store though the person in charge (I believe he is the owner) allowed us to have only two (2) shots and later an extra one . ^^

Us at the back showcase area...

The front area. The shelves are really really full of old vintage stuff. cool!

Our last shot on a couch near the cashier area.

I’m definitely going back to that place. I want to have some of the old hard-bound classics in there and they all cost 1,000 pesos each! Wow, I’ve got to start saving XD.

As for the last activity to the day, we headed to Zenses, which is found at the ground floor of A.Venue. Here are a few shots of the place:

Zenses, Neo Shanghai Cuisine

A really calming and zen-like ambiance...

The menu...

Shot of the wine on the table...

While waiting for our food, Denok handed us the invitations for her wedding on December:

A scroll-like invitation. Neat concept!

Me and Joan checking out the invitation contents...

As for our meal, it consisted of the following:

Spring onion pancake

Flambe jumbo shrimp

Lion's head

Emerald Fried Rice

Ginger Tapioca Brulee

Buchi Dessert Duo

5 Spice Flourless Choco Cake

Our appetizers and main courses are good for sharing and we ended up eating everything from our plates! They were delicious!

Joan and I wanted to try the Nitrogen Ice cream but I think they ran out of ingredients for it so it wasn’t available yesterday (awwww). That is why we ended up each ordering a different dessert so we could all have a taste.

A warning, I really love the idea of Zenses producing delightful desserts but it requires a certain tolerance of trying out something new in your palette if you want your money’s worth.

I’m not saying it’s all bad but as we all agreed, among all desserts we ordered, we love Buchi Dessert Duo. It was really sweet, with creamy chocolage filling that just melts when you get a piece and combined with the vanilla ice cream, it was absolute heaven (at least for me). ^^

For the other two, the different taste will definitely interest your taste buds. I mean really, who would have thought of adding ginger in desserts? It was interesting… for a while. Same thing with the 5 Spice Flourless Choco Cake. Spice in cake? At the end, we all wanted the sweetness all Filipinos seemed accustomed to when talking about desserts. That is anything really, really sweet!

We were very satisfied that we ended up clowing around in the bathroom. Again, the funny shots!

Me testing how mirror shots would look like. I didn't like the lighting but we've got to work with what we've got.

A perfectly, normal shot.

Of course, the crazy shot!

Oh, before I end this post, I had to show everyone a video about us interviewing Denok on her upcoming birthday on December. This can be considered as a continuation to the previous one we did in Greenbelt part a few weeks ago but this is longer and definitely more fun to do
(Unfortunately, as of now, I’m having a hard time uploading the vid because of its size. Will update once it’s fully uploaded. Sorry about that…)

I better start cleaning on some photos I want to include in my personal stock photos. I don’t know if I am to place them in flickr of deviantart. Will see! ^_^

Till the next girl bonding!

Ta da!

Just a few minutes ago, I finished a project I have been working on for weeks. This project won’t make me rich or would give me instant fame or anything of those sorts. But it is one of those challenges that would determine my level of patience and I was determined to work on that challenge. Now that it’s done, I feel so great! The pressure that has been on my chest seemed to have vanished away. I can breath better and I feel like I could take on the next activity on my list (which I can postpone till Monday. Tomorrow is Sunday, I too need a rest! XD).

Yes, stress can be a bitch but we need it once in a while to make us realize the comfort and great feeling of success. Ha! I’m not asking for any more of those stress I felt for the last two weeks but… well… life’s a bitch. We can’t live without it *grin*

Off to facebook and see the updates. Time for leisure surfing!

Joan and I had started on our “dining” adventures just a few months ago. Both of us not the “shopping-spree” kind of girls, our mall experiences are often veered to finding new restaurants to tickle our taste buds. Before, it was I who was made to choose which restaurant to eat in. Last Sunday, I made Joan decide as I was too confused to choose from the myriad of palates available in the area. There weren’t that many restaurants compared to other malls, but the palates were many with regards to the origin of the dishes. There were Korean, Thai, American, Japanese, Chinese, etc.

We ended up entering Super Doggz. The interior is really cozy and it reminded me a lot of Burger King with all the “old pop / retro” stuff adorning the walls such as posters of Elvis Presley, Marylin Monroe and this very vintage looking phone on the wall.

The atmosphere itself is of “American” culture. More so when you look at the menu and you see almost “gigantic” sizes of hotdogs, burgers and fries. We were told by the waitress that most of their menu can be shared by two. I wasn’t up for any burgers or hotdots so I decided on “Grilled Liempo” with rice while Joan ordered Shrimp Gambas with rice. Yes, ladies and gents, they actually serve Filipino dishes. Imagine that.

While waiting for our meals, Joan and I decided to share on some nachos and wow, they definitely are very generous with their nachos! So many cheese and meat toppings. Definitely plus points from me!

We were later served our drinks and main rice meals and wow, more carbs! Big rice! 0_____0

The Shrimp Gambas was tasty, even the sauce. While Joan savored every shrimp piece, I was scooping the sauce to mix with my rice.

“Cedes, that’s oil”, she said.

“I know. I don’t care”, I said and scooped some more. *evil grin*

The Grilled liempo was grilled to perfection. It was tender and juicy. Really delicious!

I ordred dessert to be brought after the meal. I didn’t expect my Syllvanas to be of this size despite the Php70 price. With a big piece, its sweetness was enough to be shared by two so Joan and I enjoyed this very much!. And oh, the caramel… Yum Yum!

We finished our meal and dessert and we realized we haven’t finished our nachos! Haha! Everything was so delicious we forgot all about it. Even if some nachos were already a bit soggy, Joan decided to have it packaged to bring home to her family. We were so full we didn’t immediately get up even when we already paid our bill. It was definitely a food fulfilling night! Can’t wait for the next restaurant to try our taste buds in!

I laughed so hard when my officemate showed me this set of pictures obviously altered to become a source of political joke either for plain fun or serious connotation of something for the candidate targeted on.

Really, this can be fun. LOL

NOTE: I did not make these. These were shared to me. ^^

LOL!

These album tells the story of adventures in Puerto Galera last May 2008. It was an office summer getaway for three days and two nights. I actually felt very nostalgic seeing these pictures and I’m definitely keeping this for keeps.

I’m planning on having the scrapbook printed once I get the budget. I can’t wait!

I guess for any creative output, the individual gets really hyped up to have a perfect product of imagination and ideas.

I delved into this digital scrapbook for a long time. Arranging, re-arranging, deleting and pasting photos, changing texts and erasing them again.

It may not be perfect to some but it is to me.

Wow! This is my second digital scrapbook. But for this one, I think I will have it printed soon to be my first creative image book on cellphone images. Neat!

Yet, outside our living room window, I see bright though cloudy atmosphere. It rains once in a while but it’s nothing to fear about.

I do hope it stays that way here in the city and I do pray with all my heart that the typhoon goes out of the Philippines asap.

With all the tragedy that has been happening, realizations has sprouted in my mind. Some of my thoughts were derived from fear, others from concern over my friends and relatives, but most of the time my thoughts came from anger…

Anger from what?

Anger for the human race.

Ever since I could remember, my parents had taught me many things.

Do not throw garbage anywhere just because you see others doing the same. You are not them. Be your own self and do the right thing. See what ‘collective minute garbage’ could do in a typhoon…

Do not let the water faucet on if you are not to use the water flowing out of them. When you’ve run out of clean water, do not even dare think of condemning NAWASA for it. You are the one using the water anyway.

Do not buy food if you are not to finish all of it. If there are some left, give or share to those who need it. Don’t wait for the time you ran out of food to eat before you value each tiny morsel.

Toys should be taken good care of. Once you’ve outlived them, do not throw them in the trash. Your trash could be another child’s treasure. Same thing goes for old books, old clothes, old bags, etc.

Do not make a habit of buying stuff just because you want to. Buy things for the purpose that you NEED them. Your money could prove to be beneficial for emergencies or for other necessities.

Be prepared for emergencies. You may not be prepared for EVERYTHING, but being prepared could lessen the effect of tragedy. Don’t think everything will be fine for you forever.

The list goes on and on…

My point is, for those who have survived or are now back from their normal lives since the typhoon Ondoy, we have much to be thankful for. Please reflect back on what you have and how you lived. I don’t think I have to elaborate much on what the world and nature is expecting from mankind.

We must change ourselves and ACT NOW.