Joycee: The Daily Commuter

It all started on Ash Wednesday.

Being the first day of Lent, the presiding priest in the mass spoke about the sacrifices each needed to make to take part in the sufferings of Jesus.  I thought of mine, and my brilliant idea was to give up the convenience of driving a car to and from work, two days in a week.  I knew that the MRT was a tough ride, but I also thought that I could manage no matter how hard it might be.  Besides, gas prices were goin' up.  It was high time to get practical. :)

I took the MRT the following day, and was surprised that it wasn't as stressful as I thought it would be.  The horror stories I'd been hearing from my officemates about the long queues, overly congested stations, etc. weren't that traumatic because I was at the station early. Time is the key.  Get there early and ride stress-free. Get there late and endure the awful travel time.

The two-day sacrifice which I promised ended up being a daily and permanent practice. ;) Now I take the train every single day of the workweek. And I'm proud!  *BIG SMILE*

There are several great things about commuting daily:

• I get to save a lot! :)) I used to spend almost 4,000 bucks a month for gas, and now I get to keep the money instead.  Ain't that lovely?  

• I'm no longer a slave of Edsa traffic.  My legs used to be so strained, both in the morning and at night.  It's never an easy travel along Edsa during weekdays.  

• In connection to the previous, I now get home at an earlier time.  If I used to arrive between 9:30 to 10pm before, now it's a normal thing to be home sweet home at 8:30. :)

• I'm now back to reading books! :)  Books used to be part of my daily existence since I've always loved reading while in transit.  But when you're driving, naturally, you should keep your eyes busy on the road.  Now I feel so glad that I'm in touch with the bookworm in me again.  Yaaay! :)

• There's now more bonding time between me and mommy. :) Before, our only time together was in the morning before work, and at night after I got home.  Now, she also lovingly brings me to the MRT station and picks me up at Trinoma at night.  :)  (This was my one request to her before I decided to commute everyday.  Ayoko mag-bus.)

 As you would expect, there are also things that I miss about using my car.

• My car is like the extension of my room.  The trunk has my shoes and bags so that I could just pick out any of them at any time of the day depending on my mood.  Now I don't have that luxury anymore.  I wear my comfy mary-jane Crocs in transit, and at the office is my black heels for the corporate look.  I can't use whichever bag I want anymore.  I'm stuck to my big sturdy shoulder bag coz it could load all the stuff that I need.

• I cannot afford to bring a lot of stuff anymore.  I no longer bring home my laptop, and the magazines delivered to me in the office.  What I do now is, whenever Rolly picks me up at Ecoplaza, I load in his car my pile of Cosmo's and Preview's and FHM's and whatnot. 

• Sometimes, I'm caught in office meetings 'til 10pm, believe it or not.  In such cases, I used to be so cool and unconcerned even if I was dead sleepy.  I knew there's a car waiting for me anyway.  Now,  I already feel worried and bothered if it's 10 and I'm not at the train station yet. :(  I heard that the last trip of the train leaves Taft at 10:30pm, and if I don't catch that, I'm dead.  I don't want to go home on a bus. :(

• I terribly miss Chico & Delamar's "The Morning Rush" on RX 93.1. :((  I miss laughing about their silliness, I miss sending entries for their daily top 10. Waaaah. :(

Like all things, being a daily commuter has an upside and a downside.  Good thing that I have choices, and i am free to mix and match, depending on my frame of mind on a particular day. :)  For the time being, I'm happy and enjoying my daily commute, even if Rolly is against it. =P

A New Sucker For Makeup Tools

I have always loved painting my face, though it's usually a no-makeup makeup look for me. I've always been fascinated with colors, but since I'm no expert, I only buy the basics:  powder, concealer, a pink blush with brush, an eye shadow palette with shades of gray, lip gloss.  It was also only lately that I started using lipstick.  I didn't want too much gunk on my lips, but mom said I looked pale most of the time.  And so I gave in.

 Only recently, I bought this 12-piece brush set from Suesh.  I got interested when an officemate who has taken formal makeup classes lent me hers for an event, and from then on, I knew I wanted my own.

Find more Suesh Stuff at http://suesh.multiply.com

I got this set for only P2,200 at Suesh's kiosk in Trinoma.  At first I only wanted to buy the 7-piece set, but the sales attendant talked me into purchasing this one. :) I still think the set inclusions are way too many.  Up to now, I haven't used all of the brushes.  Heck, I don't even know how and when to use the others. Haha.

In the guide, it says "L-R: Powder, Blush, Foundation, Big Eyeshadow, Small Eyeshadow, Eye Definer, Bullet, Thick Eyeliner, Lipbrush, Thin Eyeliner/Brow, Mascara, Brow Comb."

Hmm. I have only used the powder and blush brushes thus far. =D  I guess I need to do a research about how I could use the others. Sayang naman eh.

Meanwhile, whenever I'm in Trinoma these days, I make it a point not to pass the alley where Suesh kiosk is.  Their items are just so beautiful that I'm afraid I couldn't help but spend again once my eyes find Suesh's makeup tools.  My wallet needs to rest for now.  She's been tired and overused the last coupla months. =/

Spa Stuff

The past week was tough.

It was a hectic Monday and Tuesday at the office.  On Wednesday I was in Bulacan for a guest speaker stint. Fly in and out of Cebu on Thursday.  A frantic and sick Friday the moment I was back in Manila. To top it all off, I was off to Laguna with my office mates come Friday night, and we all knew that we would have to let a good night's sleep pass (albeit a fun, wakeful evening ;)).

What better way to end the week than an exceptionally relaxing full body massage? ;)

On Saturday morning, I was dropped off by office pals in Alabang where I was to be picked up by Rolly.  Originally, I wanted to go The Spa, the ultimate massage haven in my POV, for my long overdue Aromatherapy massage.  However, Rolly said there's a less expensive alternative in the area but the services are as good.  The Balinese Spa.

The Balinese Spa located at Festival Mall, Alabang

Like in all other spas I've been to, The Balinese Spa would give you that relaxing ambience and mood the moment you enter the place.  I checked out the list of services and chose their signature massage.  What Rolly said was true, it's really inexpensive at the Balinese.  My massage was only P550, whereas if I went to The Spa, the same service would already cost me a thousand bucks!

Of course there's always a downside to choosing something which costs less.  Let's review the amenities.

At the Balinese, there are only two couple's rooms and one single room.  If you got in after these three nooks are already occupied, you have to get your massage at the common area.

At The Spa, the number of rooms varies from branch to branch.  I never really bothered to count, but from the looks of the branches I've been to, The Spa has spacious and elegant rooms enough for you to get lost in the maze once you're inside.

The Spa, Greenbelt

 In every spa, my favorite spot is the sauna.  At the Balinese, it was a dry sauna. :(  Though putting water on the heating rocks was fun, I didn't get to enjoy my 15-minute stay as much as I would had the sauna been the other type.

Dry Sauna

 At The Spa, the sauna's the wet type.  (But I think some of their branches have dry saunas, too.) Wet saunas are more often called steam rooms.  These rooms have high temperature steam inside, which would make you sweat like crazy.  And that's just very soothing. :)  Wish I have my own steam room like this at home!

Steam Room

 Lastly, the one thing at The Spa which keeps me coming back aside from the massage, the Balinese doesn't have.  Guess what this is.

Ginger Tea!!!

The Spa's ginger tea is to die for!!!  That's why when the Balinese offered me their tea, I was excited and sorta expecting it would taste something like The Spa's.  Much to my dismay, it tasted so plain and bland. =/ But yeah.  I know I shouldn't have expected much from a P550 service. Hehe.  Just like what Rolly always says... if you pay peanuts, you get monkeys.

After all is said and done, still it all boils down to the service you really paid for - the massage.  In this aspect, The Balinese is at par with, if not better than, The Spa.  The full body massage was terrific, I even fell asleep in the midst of it.  That has never happened to me in all my massage treatments at The Spa!   Uhm, okay, I admit I'm not certain if I was just too tired yesterday to appreciate the Balinese massage this much, but still, I am convinced that it's one of the best rubdowns I got. :)

So the next time you're in the South, thinking of something invigorating to do but you do not have so much in your pocket, you might as well visit The Balinese Spa located at Festival Mall, Alabang. :) It would be worth your while, not to mention it wouldn't put a dent on your wallet.

PS.  I heard there's a really cheap spa place here in QC.  Wensha Spa? Massage + buffet + stay-as-long-as-you-want!  I haven't been there, but I might try one of these days. 

About the Blogger

Hi, I’m Joyce Del Pilar – Delos Reyes, a wife and mommy. I live in the south of the metro with my husband, Rolly, whom I exchanged vows with in 2012 at Christ the King Parish, Green Meadows.❤ In March 2015 and October 2018, we were blessed with a happy baby girl and a cute baby boy, respectively, and they are probably the most written about topic in this blog. :) I graduated from the University of the Philippines - Diliman with a degree in Broadcast Communication, and I currently work as a group brand manager.

I’m not really a writer, but I started this blog nonetheless in my desire to remember bits and pieces of my life through the years. Born in April 2011, this page has evolved from being a young girl’s frivolous journal (you can still see my silly old posts here if you dig up) to a now more sensible documentation of my experiences. Now that I’m a wife and mommy, I write more about my adventures in marriage and motherhood, besides other things like the faith that keeps me going, the work that I do, the products that I love, and other stuff that inspire me every day.

❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

If you have any questions or are interested in working together,

feel free to send me an e-mail: 

joycedreyes(at)gmail(dot)com 

Thank you! :)