Work-Life Balance-Must Be Hard Being a Parent

After a looong hiatus from working, I'm finally back on the corporate ladder. I'm still struggling to climb it, mind you. But as a friend of mine bluntly put it: I need to get back on the climb to forge a career. Being off the market too long will set me back to fresh-grad level. And when that happens, I already have a wide enough age disadvantage. So here I am again. Making money is so not easy! I've had a very happy career impasse and I miss it everyday haha!

I'm barely a month and a half into my job. And I can't remember ever being so tired. Of course, I'm not the fresh grad I used to be. But I can't be considered old yet either. However, I find myself ridiculously sleepy at 9pm, when I used to be a raging insomniac. Of course, my daily pace has changed. But I was used to a similar pace before the impasse and I had struggled to get my eyes shut at 12pm or worse 2pm. Ah, aging.

So this physical toll has gotten me thinking about how difficult it must be to be a parent. I don't have a family yet. And I don't see it happening all too soon either. But I just wondered, if I did have a husband and kids, how would I manage to take care of them after a grueling day at work? I'm too tired as it is. And I don't even have other responsibilities other than myself! I feel it must be very difficult.

Now, when I get home, I need some quiet time to relax. If I had kids, they'd bombard me with pleas for attention, food or homework. I feel I'm too selfish to manage at the moment. But I do have a larger sense of appreciation for the parents who do such a good job of providing and nurturing their families. It must be exhausting. But you're all angels for managing and carrying on.

My own parents are prime examples. After a long day, they humor us by listening to our petty trials, tribulations and endless rants. All this after an hour with an irrational boss, heated business review or unreasonable client who's bent on raising hell must not be easy. They ask us about our day when we don't even think to ask them about theirs. We ask so much of our parents: material things, emotional stability and mental guidance. But who takes care of their needs and feelings? Who gives them an hour of silence to gather their thoughts and bearings?

If you have a good parent, appreciate them. Think about it, what they do for us, all they do for us, is really hard. But they do it because they love us. God bless them :)

Driver's License Renewal SM Cebu

Since my last two posts were about the NBI, I feel it fitting to now talk about the LTO Drivers License Renewal Station at SM City Cebu.

I had forgotten that renewals were made every three years. I can still remember the agony from my last visit very vividly as if it were just yesterday. So I went into this years renewal with huge apprehensions. I was expecting to stay the whole day, just as before. I expected chaos, missing doctors at the health check line and barbaric crowds.

So I was pleasantly surprised to find myself holding my new license just less than two hours after I arrived. There were mild crowds that day. And the process seems to have become more efficient since I last went. The typhoon probably had something to do with the thinner crowds. And since I went on my birthday, the exact expiry day, I could have had a bit more luck than I ordinary do haha. Nevertheless, it was a good day at the renewal center.

I'm very happy to note that apart from the DFA in Cebu, this renewal center is getting good marks from me for efficiency, competence and speed.

I hope more government agencies follow suit.

As a end note, I had to get my car registration renewed recently. And the MVIR evaluator in LTO Mandaue refused to give me service because I had my smoke emission test done in Cebu City. What's weird is I had no problems getting service at the same station just a year ago. And I had my smoke emission test done in the same Cebu City establishment as last year too. Sigh... This agency is definitely not on the good list!