Inside Jan's Mind

Grab your coffee mugs ‘cause this is going to be a long one! I went out with James last Sunday, October 20th, and he bought me an orange bandage skirt from July, SM City Cebu and that was the first gift I received for my birthday. I’ve been eyeing that piece for quite some time now but I never bought it because I felt that I will be wasting lots of money. When I went home from a 12-hour shift last Monday, my cousin surprised me with a rose pink skater skirt that wiped all the stress away. It was Tuesday morning when I was awakened by a loud knock from my door. When I opened it, my heart melted when James brought my favorite breakfast – Mcdonald’s sausage Mcmuffin with egg and hot chocolate. I reported for work early and two of my colleagues gave me chocolates. Everyone in the office arrived one by one, each giving me tight hugs and birthday greetings. On lunch break, I received a text message from my sister’s colleague who happened to have a cake pop business. I went out and saw her h...

October 15, 2013 at approximately 8:15 in the morning when a 7.2 magnitude earthquake struck Central Visayas, Philippines. Everyone was trembling with fear and I.. I wasn't an exception. It was a holiday in celebration of Id-ul Adha or the Muslims' feast of sacrifice. I thought it would just be an ordinary day, I've never been so wrong. My flat was on the second floor and while I was taking a shower, prepping for work, I felt a slight tremble but thought it was just a big truck passing by. I initially ignored it but it grew stronger and faster so I panicked and threw my toothbrush and clothes, grabbed my towel and hurried to my room. My roommate who happened to be my cousin was shouting while grabbing me under the bed. We were so terrified that we decided to go home to my parents'. We rode a cab and the moment my mom saw me, she hugged me tightly. We experienced lots of aftershock -- some strong, some not. I was not used to “not doing anything” so I borrowed my siste...

It’s my friend’s birthday and after we had dinner, we couldn’t decide where to go. After squishing our brains out thinking of where to hang out, we decided to visit one of the newest coffee shops in town, Café Caw. It’s located in Salinas Drive Lahug, Cebu City right across JY Square. We rode a public vehicle and arrived in less than 10 minutes. Me and the birthday girl, Sofia. This photo was taken outside café caw. Their colorful designs and alluring ambience is simply fascinating. You can already smell the mouth-watering aroma of coffee as you enter the café. I had no idea what to have so I asked them what their best sellers are. They recommended these: hot hazelnut and iced vanilla espresso! I just love the bittersweet taste. I wasn’t able to take a photo of the cookies and cakes but I’m surely ordering those next time. When I was on my way up, I noticed this sign perfectly written on their staircase. Seeing this, I concluded that the owner must be very imagin...

I love my job because I can play dress-up and we have the liberty to wear whatever we want as long as it’s neither too casual, nor revealing. When I was little, my mom used to sew dresses for me and she gets to decide what I’d wear, and I hated that. I wanted to wear jeans and shorts and rubber shoes. But she wanted me to sport lacey dresses and sparkly flats with bows. When I reached high school, I was allowed to pick my outfits so then I was able to wear shirts, baggy pants and sneakers. In college, we had two options to wear the uniform – skirt or pants. Purposefully, I chose pants because for me, skirts were uncomfortable. But when I had my first job, wearing dresses, skirts and cashmeres seemed to be normal with my coworkers. It was a different world. It seemed like they were on a stage, sporting different types of outfits. I was amazed by how they wear their fur coats, sky-heel shoes, boots and signature makeup. Then I realized that being a girly girl isn’t so bad after all. I s...