Learning To Co-exist With The Business Competitor

"Now you have seen the worst", 

our son said on FaceTime the week after a giant superstore opened a junior outlet in the village.   He wanted an update how it is affecting our convenience store.  Well, we have been feeling the brunt these past weeks and while the sales is low, at least it is a bit better than we expected. 

Like Jim, our son understands how business works, he being a marketing guy himself.  He further said:

"Well, I know that the sales may not go up to the mark as it used to be anytime soon but......".  We are realistic and we believe that too; that's why Jim told him that we are giving this a minimum of three months to observe how it goes. 

"Most people are curious, they like to see what's in the new store",  my older daughter said,  "wait it out, the novelty of shopping there may wear out one of these days".  

Jim knows that in this business and most businesses for that matter, vicinity is important.  He told our son that we are hopeful because we have an edge over our competitors since our location is pretty much the ideal place in the over-all scheme of the village.  

Besides, there is no such thing as a favorite store, like what Filipinos call "suki"  (frequent buyer).   I learned early on in the trade that people buy where it is convenient, where they can find most of their requirements and wherever they find themselves at the moment of need. When they are at the mall, there's always a grocery there; and if not, they would choose the closest,  (not necessarily the dearest).

I held back in purchasing two weeks before the dreaded opening of the new store.  I wanted to observe first how things go because I didn't want to be left with a lot of merchandise that may not move.  I was partly wrong though, because we ran out on some fast-moving items the following weekend. 

As merchandise filled the store again, we noticed a slight increase in sales.   So what is there left to do?  

When our younger daughter abroad asked how things are going, I replied that our primary move is to improve customer assistance, we believe that people are often in a rush, impatient to stand in line, so they should be able to get what they want with ease and go out as swiftly as possible. 

"I am personally doing the stock Inventory and  purchasing since that is crucial.  if we want our store to be a one-stop shop then we must make provisions for the frequently needed merchandise.  At this point, I can't delegate that to anyone."   I further told her. 

Merchandize display is important too.  If it's sausage, customers must see all available brands and sizes in one glance, from big to small or vice versa.  Every item must be clean and should be displayed in such a way that they seem to be calling attention as if to say:  "here I am, buy me".

"I like your approach on this", my younger daughter replied. "It is also a driver to further improve things; operations and efficiencies". 

Our children's comments are our thoughts exactly, they reflect how we see things and how we feel about them. Moreover, it feels great to be encouraged and inspired by them and to know that we are in this together.  I can say the same with our staff who are vigilant to assist customers.  They regularly fill us in on customer feed back. 

The last three weeks in "limbo" were excruciatingly stressful, but we now see a pattern that we can hold on to; though the cash register reading is still not what we want it to be, at least we can get by for now and hope that things will get better.  Most importantly, we were able to release some of the nerves which have been bubbling inside and around us since the new store opening.

    

"Let us relax now so we don't stress ourselves", Jim told me one night.  "Life is short, we must enjoy it, we've done what needs to be done, let's just hope for the best", he added.  Well,  I just hope that the universe is holding up its end of the bargain. 

I'd like to believe Maya Angelou when she said:

"We may encounter many defeats but we must not be defeated".

And I keep telling myself:

"Never give up the dream", right?

Learning To Live With Diabetes

Someone said that there is no reset button in life, we can't take anything back, we can't undo anything.  Our actions have consequences, everything that we say or do may have lasting impact for the rest of our lives. 

Well then, if I can't undo diabetes, at least I can control it so I won't suffer serious complications like nerve damage, kidney trouble or blurry eyes and at its worst, blindness.  It is therefore imperative to restrain myself from too much sweets and  carbohydrates. 

If only to know is as easy as to do, then all our resolve will be realized.  Unfortunately that's not the case with me.  I've indulged too much on foods not good for me.   Now I have to double time washing down the traces of sugar in my system. 

I've always loved sweets, it is my food orientation since I was a child.  My mama always baked cakes; my aunts frequently made native cakes and our afternoon snacks were mostly pastries.   

In my childhood, before the advent of chips, (well, maybe there was already plain potato chips then),  we had boiled plantain, sweet potatoes, peanut with shells and other root crops to munch on in between snacks and meals, they simply weren't our real snacks. They were always on the table for anyone to pick and eat. 

Nobody told me that diabetes is in my genes.  I should have known that after seeing my great grandmother eat steamed okra with fish sauce night after night for dinner because she had diabetes. 

But I can't blame anyone, can I ?  This high blood glucose just cropped up in the last two years when I was tagged pre-diabetic.  Had I restrained myself from eating too much sweets, I should still be good, right? 

At the end of January my FBS was 8.13 mmol/L, but my doctor thought that a good part of it was due to holiday food.  Nevertheless, he prescribed medication and cautioned me to go slow on sweets and carbohydrates and do another test after a month.  

Using HbA1c as a diagnostic tool confirmed, to my dismay, that yes, I am diabetic.   Though the result is on the lower bracket it is diabetes just the same. 

Determined to overcome my high FBS, I watched my diet closely and exercised a lot in February anticipating a much lower FBS result by month end.  To my disappointment, I was able to bring it down to a mere  0.03 mmol/L which is negligible.  

I did not lose hope though, I recall what my younger daughter said that traces of bad elements remain in the blood stream for six months even if you stop taking them in; that's how long it will take to flush it down, and maybe not even totally.  To abstain from foods high in sugar the day or even a week before the test won't make a difference as well, no, we can't cheat. 

So I worked up more restraint, I did more exercise and finally I was rewarded.  At the end of March, my FBS went down significantly to 6.99 mmol/L.  My doctor reduced my diamicron to half and told me to have another test in ten days.  

Ten days?  I thought I could have a little reprieve and relax a bit, but NO, apparently I can't do that.  I have to see this through, not only in ten days but until I'll hit normal again;  even if it takes all my will power to get to that finish line, I'm going to do it.  

Finally, I know that even when I bring my FBS down, I have to make a drastic change in my lifestyle diet from here on.  As Chico Xavier said: 

"Though nobody can go back to a new beginning; anyone can start over and make a new ending".

Our Edible Backyard Garden Gives Back Fruits For Our Labor

Our backyard edible garden is at its best this time of the year. Though the weather is humid, our plants love the summer sun, sunshine is vital for optimum growth.   Their flowers don't fall and they continue to grow into fruits.  

Come, follow me, I'll give you a walk-through. 

Look at our herbs. 

Mint

I'm presently propagating mint because my customers are requesting for it, besides, my older daughter wants it as well.  When you see roots in two weeks, that's the time to plant them in soil.  

Tarragon.  It is easy to propagate from cuttings that could be  planted immediately in soil.

Rosemary smells so good!   I love to sprinkle the leaves on bread before toasting.  The entire kitchen will smell so good. 

My oregano patch.  I stick oregano tops almost anywhere in the garden where there is space.  It thrives with or without sunshine. 

These are oregano planted in plastic containers ready for sale. 

This basil patch is in the front lawn where it can get plenty of sunshine.   Jim grew this from seeds.  

These basil pots are ready for sale too.  

That's it on herbs!

Now let me show you Jim's fruit-bearing veggies. 

The okra patch. 

Look at this single okra plant with multiple fruits. 

Here's another. 

Eggplant with fruits growing.  Can you count five fruits here?

Bitter gourd (ampalaya) . This is beginning to cover our entire back wall.

See those fruits hanging by our aircon? 

Two more fruits by the horse frame. 

Cherry tomatoes!

A close up of one cherry tomato plant. Never tires giving us fruits.  Notice that a branch is flowering again. 

Now let me show you Jim's kangkong patch.

These are Chinese kangkong, notice that they don't craw unlike the native ones.  Their leaves are also thinner. These are ready to be harvested. 

Jim integrated tomatoes with the kangkong. Notice that the bamboo trellis is ready when the tomatoes grow taller. 

Pandan, just like oregano are also all over our garden. 

These pandan in small pots also sell.   

Let's go to my citrus collection. 

Two pots of lemon. I almost gave up the one on the left but Jim gave it life again. Now it has three fruits and several flowers. 

Among the kalamansi this has the most fruits now.  

I've been harvesting from these two, haven't bought kalamansi fruits in a month, they are giving me enough. 

We placed these in the front lawn for the meantime. Two of them now have tiny fruits while the third has fruits soon to be harvested. 

Look at the citronella, I was not sure they will thrive in the shade but look how robust they are now.  Jim put out his magic green thumb again 

They are thriving sans sunshine, this one in the corner is even hidden by the okra patch. 

Thats all folks!

The harvest from this garden isn't much but we're happy that it certainly brings the freshest, purely organic veggies one can get.

This garden is our serene oasis, we enjoy breakfast and afternoon snacks here while we appreciate the surroundings.  It brings us so much joy too.  

I hope I inspired you to start planting as well, that is if you arent doing it yet.  If not, I hope I entertained you and made you smile.