Giving is Glorious

Kris Kringle is heard of during the joyous Christmas holidays and the traditional secret gift giving are done in schools, offices and within friends and family.   Actually we are not spared because we had started it last month with our officemates.  Every week our “baby”  receives something based on the theme of the week.    The baby referred to is the name of the person whom we had picked and it will be kept secret till the Revelation day which is on Christmas day.

This is the list of what I received:

• 1st week- Something sweet- I received a box of cube sugar
• 2nd week- Something long and hard – Barbecue stick
• 3rd week- Weird and funny – a keychain and a banana!?
• 4th week- Soft and round – a small round pillow and make up sponge

Truly, all of what I received seemed to be funny and boring but my ‘mommy” during the revelation day surprised me with a Swatch watch. She told me that on week 1 to 4, she purposely gave those things to test my patience and she had all it planned that she will give me something special on the day of revelation.  I was surprised and touch because it cost more than the agreed amount of gift to give.   And I love the watch…

It was  good of me, that I did not react or comment on how boring those gifts were because I still follow what my Mom told us when it comes to receiving gifts that we don’t expect or like at all.  She told us to exercise the following traits:

• Kindness
• Patience
• Happiness
• Manners

And I was sure glad to have applied the above, because I received what I never expected in the end.

Our Family Sportsfest finally opened last Thursday!  It was postponed twice because of unavailability of venue so when Mr. Ronnie, the school coordinator called me up offering the venue for half a day use, I readily said yes, not thinking that the timing will be from 6:00 am to 1:00 pm only.  I just decided it upon myself and grabbed the slot right away because we might lose that elusive opportunity to use it.    I then hurriedly called for a meeting with the Sports working Committee to prepare for the Opening Ceremony.  The program was drafted rushly, discussed on how to go about the ceremony.  One thing we agreed and to emphasize to all the members to come promptly.  Because if we will start the parade behind the scheduled time, without any doubt, the  whole proceedings will be dragged and we don’t want to let those precious time tick away just waiting for others.  We made it clear, at 7:00 am sharp, the parade of colors will start!

Thursday, we were not expecting the 100% attendance at 6:00 am but the members began to swell in numbers around 7:00 am just before the parade starts.   Members came with their children who obviously are still sleepy but looked very excited.  It was a colorful activity  with all 6 colors- green, yellow, blue, black, blue and white teams that eagerly participated and loudly yelled out their team chants.

After the short program, we continued to the the first game which is Fun Basketball for Ladies.  The team was composed of 5 participants who did free throw shooting and the team which had the most numbers of balls shot in 60 seconds wins.     All of us, obviously need to do practice shooting  because most of our balls only reached halfway the ring.   My white team won second place- thanks to our team mate who earned 3 scores.  I only contributed 1 successful shot but I know it was only a lucky chance!   The next game was Badminton but due to our restricted time till 1 pm,  the teams only had one game each and to continue this weekend.

Overall, it was such a happy event, we were able to relax and enjoyed  family bonding time.  However, the next day, I can hardly get up from my bed, I was aching all over.. too sore muscles… Initially, I took pain reliever and rubbed on some mint oil on my body hoping the aches will  be gone in a day or two.

The happy face turned into a sad face when I called off sick in the office.

I am ready and hoping to do brisk business in personalized Christmas giveaways.   Just last night, after I have finished the last piece of sample, I immediately posted ads for friends to see and I am now anxiously waiting for the first order.  Actually, a handful already showed interest and was asking complete details about the giveaways.

Times are hard so to augment the family’s income, I decided to utilize whatever skills I have coupled it with patience and dedication.  Since, I know I have an innate talent and creativity to fuzz with giveaways, I wasted no time in designing photobooks, customized bags, cosmetic cases, luminous cups, mouse pads, etc.  which I believe will make good Christmas presents.  This idea cropped up during casual conversation with friends who raised their concerns (not complaints) of receiving duplicate gifts every year.  It is really true that choosing the best gift is a cause of concern and finding an ideal gift for loved one is a nightmare.

So I made some gift suggestions that will surely warm the hearts of the receiver knowing that they are well thought of because of the personal touch added into it.   And the effort of giving customized gift will make them feel special.

a classic handbag for your officemate

a compact mirror

a compact digital camera case for your loved ones

cosmetic case

huggable teddy bear

He will be forever in our hearts!  He was long been buried 6 feet under the ground! .  It was Dad’s birthday yesterday and he would have turned 77 years old if he was alive today….He died at a young age of 54 when he succumbed to heart attack.   Well those days when he was working as a consultant ( he was a Civil Engineer) in a Japanese firm “Summa Kumagai Gumi”, his lifestyle was something you will really expect to give him health problems.  It became habitual for him along with his engineer friends  to frequent bars to entertain their Japanese counterparts after a long day in the job site.   Especially after the contract has been finally awarded to them, it will the time for merry making….pretty much during their project turn over…..  So, really, it did not surprised us when he had hypertension which eventually led to his early death.   Poor eating habits, too much socializing, fatigue, no exercise, stress… poor lifestyle….

Oh no… not blaming my dead Dad (lol), just having these thoughts that only if he had taken care of himself, then he should have seen all his grandchildren…. It was only my son whom he had seen (being the first grandchild).   He was survived by my Mom who never remarry and now had 11 grandchildren from us.

Last night… I believed that he made his presence felt… but it’s alright… (scary huh).. anyway he was (he is ) my daddy…