Last Day of 2005

Yep, today is the last day of 2005. Later on, we'll start cooking the NYE feast - we're having ribs, lengua, baked macaroni, fruit salad, a basket of fruits ... yun lang 'ata. I'm sure some other stuff will turn up. I'm set to clean my room in a few minutes - last night, i folded up all of my clothes in neat, even stacks --- yeah, yeah, i'm kinda OC and i need things in a certain order or i can't plan it very well.

I managed to come up with a new blog look for 2006 but right now, i don't really know how to integrate that design with the template of blogger. I hope i find some time to do that in january cause i'd be tied up studying for 7 written exams next term. On the left is how my blog is going to look like. I mixed orange & some green into it - nope, i didn't copy DJ's color scheme - i've always loved orange & yellows & blues & greens and i always use these colors in my excel tables.

I decided to put a sorta picture collage in the middle of the blog - ala lang, thought it looks neat. Dun sa mag-co-comment, what i do with my blog is my busines!!! hahaha i placed also a Last Song Syndrome area where one of the songs will be playing. In my current blog, there's no previous post list for some reason so i need to figure out a way to include that. DJ, stop making deadma and offer to help!!! hahaha oh well, if DJ doesn't have time, i will try to figure it out siguro though i don't know when. If i don't find time, my blog will look like its dire self for the time muna.

unfortunately i haven't finished my Xmas shopping yet. Well, i fancied resting A LOT during the holidays so cut me some slack. Yes, i still plan to do that - never been really good at buying stuff for other people. I'm really good at buying stuff for myself though - if i like it, i buy it, simple as that (provided i can afford it of course). so many things to do this at the start of the year - pay my tuition, renew my passport, ask for relo details, get my picture taken. and there are a lot of things i need to do at work - its something i've been putting off for some time now and i will need to square off with it soon.

dad & my brother bought firecrackers from Bulacan yesterday. yes, unfortunately my dad & brother still doesn't think its new year if we don't have firecrackers. personally, i shun from the really strong firecrackers. there's something about a potential for torn limbs that just gets to me - so i stay only with the roman candles and the fountains and that's it. i stay away from the judas belt, whistle bombs, five star or any of those that explode ... torn limbs, torn limbs, torn limbs. i'd like to have my digits intact in the coming year. it would be good to have a martini or a glass of champagne + some strawberries later but that's not us.

and the countdown to 2006 begins ...

south of nowhere

i just read about south of nowhere in one of the blogs i visit daily. its in the N channel and the cast is pretty gorgeous. The guys are gorgeous and the girls are pretty awesome as well. Hmmm, well i think ashley is hot and spencer is too sweet for my taste. Aiden is a total hottie and glen isn't bad either. spencer & glen are siblings and clay (the black guy) is their adopted brother. ashley and aiden were a previous item but ashley is now interested in girls. aiden is not over ashley yet but he's somewhat attracted to spencer. aiden & glen both are star players in their HS basketball varsity - glen somewhat steals aiden's pointguard position. its a pretty promising series, reminiscent of the beverly hills 90210 days. its set in LA and the story is pretty interesting. so far i like The OC and One Tree Hill right now but South of Nowhere is something i don't plan to miss out. if you look at glen (played by chris hunter) closely, he somewhat reminds me of pacey (joshua jackson) from dawson's creek.

before the year ends

2005 will be over soon. i can't believe 364 days has passed already - one more day and we will be ushering in a brand new year. aside from christmas, its the new year that i like next. but that new year post as i've said will come later - that will be my first post for 2006. this post is one of the 'before the year ends' kind of post.

i already have some sort of ritual in place before the year ends. first here is that i clean up my room - i do mean really clean it up. i change all of the bedsheets, i vaccum every nook & corner. I use MC cleaning cream on just about everything (i think i get sickly from inhaling all of those petroleum like fumes from MC mind you) from the TV, computer, deskphone, cd's, sometimes even the walls. i go through everything that i can get my hands on and then sort these out between "keep" and "throw" categories. its really surprising how much junk you can accummulate during the year. i have a stack of T3 magazine right now - i wonder if i should keep them since i'm pretty sure i am not going to read them again. Well, maybe it will be good to read them 10 years after and wonder "boy, the technology back then was really archaic." duh! i haven't really got to those magazines yet. I already washed those clothes that i normally will not send to the laundromat, there's just a few more batches tomorrow that i need to soak overnight.

i am going to go over all of the clothes that i have in my closet, including all of the shoes i have right now. i can't believe how much clothes i have right now - i mean, there's really plenty accumulated from all of the shopping i have done. those clothes that i will definitely won't wear next year are going away. even the shoes that i never wear will be gone for sure cause the stacks of shoe boxes are getting dangerously high already. i don't have a problem losing all of these cause i see an upside here - i can go shopping again. there are 2 stores i like right now - springfield and celio. i like the clothes at springfield cause they have very cool, casual/sporty clothes. i like celio because they have a whole range of colors that i like and the clothes actually suit my taste. yeah, both are pretty expensive. shoes - oh my, how i love shoes. i still need to buy some more clothes that matches some of the colored shoes i have. next year, i am going to build my wardrobe essentials - more belts, hankerchieves, gym outfits, more undershirts. i actually have too many jackets already - i think i have like 10 already so i should stop buying jackets. Definitely more cool & casual tee's.

i haven't really been able to clean up my freakin' inbox. i am going to pay dearly for slacking off the past two weeks. i hate to admit it but i'm really addicted to my computer already - i can NOT open my computer everyday, check out what i can download. Thank heavens for DSL!!! But back to my inbox, i usually clean my e-mails before i go back to work during the new year. Start the year right, right? Well, there's still some time left. Who am i kidding? Another thing i have not managed to do yet is to clean up all of the MP3 files - clean meaning, rename them, tag them, back them up.

i hope i manage to do most of these stuff before the year ends. 2006 is a new beginning. I want to welcome it with everything in place.

Seven things to do before you turn 30

by Alice Sevilla Mendoza
(Lifestyle, Philippine Daily Inquirer - March 1, 1996)

Note : I caught this article by accident back in 1996 as i was scrounging to some old folders. I think it was one of my mom's newspaper cutouts and this article was something that stuck on my head. While i am past the age of 30, i think the advice here still applies and i am sharing this to my friends because i think this is a must-read. It is kinda long but i am re-printing it here without any edits even if some of the mentions here are no longer updated.

Turning 30 is not a rite of anguish anymore; realizing what one hasn’t done the past three decades is. The sister of a good friend was once agitating on how to bring her man to the altar. They shared the house in South, San Francisco, the furniture, the parakeets. They went dutch along the way, down to grocery and phone bills, “so I can have a say.”
It was a relationship more democratic than the presidential primaries. At 29 the lady had practically everything she desired. She was pretty, intelligent and popular. She had a successful job as a credit analyst. Although not wealthy she led a comfortable life with no major financial problems. She had the say in household matters that was so precious to her.

What marred the happiness was the one thing she didn’t have a say on: the wedding ring. “I better get that before the big 3-0, otherwise I’m off.” she threatened. Happily enough for her they did get married. And the wedding costs were split down the middle; having a say was important even when she became this man’s wife. This isn’t a new story. Everyone has her little tales of long-suffering females who swore to leave when they felt their biological clock ticking.
What is interesting is why the ticking begins to take on the ominous timber of a time bomb the closer you get to 30, or why there was ever a deadline in the first place.

Times have undoubtedly changed. Thirty isn’t seen as the first stage of leprosy anymore. Some of the silver screen’s most alluring and bankable starts are not nubile young nymphets. Demi Moore is 32, Sharon Stone 38, Kim Basinger is hitting 40. All these women are considered to be in their prime, both physically and professionally.

Turning 30 represents a chance to right the wrongs, settle scores, start fresh. It is a time to build on past successes while creating new ones. Undoubtedly it is also a first hard look at mortality, and the wise know this glimpse is a privileged one. After the banalities of the last decade, the focus now is in getting the best out of the years to come.

The Observer says Madame Jeanne Calment never had a job, drank a glass of port a day, and smoked until she was a mere 116. On turning 121, she has recorded a compact disc of rap music. Her doctors aren’t sure how she outlived everyone, but Mme. Calment has her own answer: “I’ve always kept smiling and that’s how I’m going to continue. I make the most of everything while I can. By the way, have I got any presents yet? I wouldn’t mind another bottle of perfume.”

The following may not be applicable to everyone in making the most of it, but among those asked who were on the cusp of 30 these are the things they wished they’ve done sooner:

Travel. We don’t mean Hong Kong, although it is a pretty fascinating city. Most young people should have the opportunity to see that the world is bigger than Megamall. If you are lucky enough to be sponsored in making a big trip to the US or Europe, treat it as a learning experience, not just a great opportunity to buy Bass loafers on discount.
There is always a hunger in us to go where we’ve never been, and in your 30s travel opportunities that aren’t business trips or vacations that cost your entire Christmas bonus, are as rare as that taxi driver who returned US$70,000 to that idiotic passenger.

It’s a cliché but true: travel makes history come alive, and opens up the mind to countless new experiences. Make sure you can learn from it while you can.

Buy life insurance. It’s a fact of life that the young think they’re bulletproof. In your 20s life insurance is seen as cumbersome, morbid and not worth paying. Insurance agents on the other hand are weasels, vultures and vermin that don’t have enough rocks to crawl under. The reality is, accidents happen. Buses ram into cars. Planes crash. Boats sink. Anything can happen, and its too late to sort out a potential financial mess when your family and relatives are in mourning.

The news is the earlier you start shelling out on life insurance which you need anyway, the lower the premiums you pay. Life insurance plans also have cash values that accumulate through the years aside from life and death benefits. Unlike automatic teller machines which are an extension of your pocket and spell death for savings accounts, insurance policies can’t be frittered away by withdrawals but entitle you to a neat sum if you do decide to cash in your policy at the end of the specified number of years.

Of course that preceding explanation was simplified for those who hate the subject, but let an expert tell you more. This is not a pitch for insurance companies, but if you’d only stop blowing off that agent you’d find out what you can get out of life insurance, namely peace of mind.

Get fit. At 20 losing five pounds is like sneezing. There’s hardly any effort involved. At 30 just budging the ripples of fat on your thighs would involve a crane and forklift. Of course that’s exaggerating but you get the picture.

Generally the younger you are, the easier it is to reach and maintain optimum fitness. Getting into the habit early on primes and conditions your body so that by 30, at a time when couch potatoes start discovering mysterious aches and pains, you’re in the pink of health.

It always happens that you bump into former schoolmates and are thunderstruck by their massive weight gain. The youngest looking members in a class reunion are always the sporty one’s who’ve remained athletic throughout their lives.

Start living healthier sooner, and the benefits will remain with you Longer. Corollary to this the sooner you take care of your skin the more you’ll appreciate the effort you made earlier on. Being Asian, you’ll have crows feet and wrinkles much later, but why wait? Start on the moisturizer.

Save or invest money. This had to crop up sooner but the intention was there not to turn you off too soon. You can tell the thirtysomethings in a party since they’re huddled in the kitchen talking about the condos they’ve just taken out a loan on. Meanwhile the twenteens are chafing to get to Zu.

Savings is rarely a priority in your 20s. Shopping is. There are many bright young things out there with Prada bags, Maxmara suits and debts that, as Nick Lessor did, are shoved into a drawer in the hope they would evaporate. Around 30 or thereabouts, the shopping plateau hits. There are Life changes: a shift in careers, a marriage, a baby. When that happens, most rue the day they spend their last dollars on yet another pair of black pumps when they had 40 identical ones gathering dust in their closets.

There are many regrets since that money could have been put to better use. Follow your mother’s advice and pay yourself first every payday by deducting a percentage that gets debited straight into an account you can’t touch. Not doing without it will train you to live on what’s left.

Keep an eye out for investing in the future when your stash reaches a certain amount. There are many ways to make that money grow – a good broker or fund manager can introduce you to the intricacies of managing an investment.
At 30 you’ll be glad you made that early sacrifice. While your peers will be struggling to put something away, you can be secure in the thought that you had a headstart.

Learn another language or get another degree. It’s been a good number of years since you’ve left university. Has your degree worked for you? Are your skills still competitive in the workplace? The best time to learn another language or get another degree would be when you’re unencumbered by job and family responsibilities, with the extra time and energy to work and study at the same time.

For most people that would be in their 20s.

For guidance, read classified advertisements outlining the qualifications of posts you eventually would like to fill. Is an MBA important to rise in your field? Would learning Mandarin or Japanese give you a chance to work in an overseas posting? Are your computer skills up to date? Acquiring relevant skills and knowledge adds to your value as an employee or manager and brightens prospects for the future.

So many deliberately stayed behind – out of ignorance, choice or fear – when the revolution of new information and technology took over, that their skills are now outdated and inadequate.

A former boss of mine, a hotel director of marketing, doesn’t even know how to use the most basic PC, claiming pen and paper will do. In the ‘90s this is amazing considering that true marketing involves testing and response analyses, both of which require computer knowledge. However, the most practical disadvantage of her ignorance was that any computer recommended for purchase by the department was bought, and even then the only cursory check was made by her assistant whose knowledge was hardly that of a professional IT manager. As a result none of the computers were networked and transfer of data was done manually with a diskette. Naturally productivity low.

All this could have been avoided if she had taken the time and effort to learn basic computer skill. In the long run being left behind costs money – and future jobs.

Live on your own. Some people think independence means not borrowing the car on Saturday night. That’s admirable, but moving out is much more of a learning experience. Paying household bills you’ve racked up, learning how to clean up after your own rubbish without a squadron of maids, even cooking your own meals are lessons well learned far from home.

Can’t afford living on your own? Have two jobs or move in with a friend. So many young people claim they are the masters of their own destiny but fuss when the maid doesn’t turn the hot water on. This is all riveting señorito stuff, but when the umbilical cord has to be finally severed they are at a loss. The most basic chores are incomprehensive since someone always used to do it for them.

Perhaps the best lesson one can learn in this life is that mommy and daddy aren’t always there to pick up after you.
Living on you own will teach you that in ways no textbook can, and will equip you better for the time when you start a family.

Exorcise your ghosts. This could probably be the hardest, since a grudge is like a bunion. Over time it gets harder and more calloused until its impenetrable. During your 20s its okay, nay accepted to blame your angst on deprived childhoods, cruel friends and traitorous boyfriends.

During your 30s the same excuses sound pretty lame. At some point or another you will have to be responsible for your own actions. So your parents broke up. so one of your boyfriends jilted you for your friend. So bloody what? Using these creaking skeletons as scapegoats for a miserable existence hardly counts as looking forward. I still have an office colleague who can’t forget no one spoke to her when she was in a freshman party in Australia. Did it scar her for life? Probably, since she can’t seem to stop talking about it.

Get rid of those ghosts that have stubbornly hung over you. They have no place in your tomorrows except as references to periods in your life.

Turning 30 means moving on, not wrestling with old grievances.

Remember Mme. Calmet? According to The Observer, despite the death of her only daughter, Yvonne, in 1934, of her husband Fernard in 1942, and of her only grandchild, Frederic, in 1963, she has something we should all aspire to have, says her doctor. “She has a remarkable capacity to overcome grief and carry on.” And carrying on is only the start.

Better things are yet to come – just wait until you’re 40.

-------------------------------------------------------------
So what have i done out of these seven things? I've managed to travel to a number of places already, been to Hong Kong, Malaysia, China and the US. I've been to a number of places in the Philippines (Boracay, Cebu, Bohol, Ilocos, Baguio, Sagada) and i am planning to explore more of this fascinating country.

I have 2 life insurances now (i just started with the 2nd one). I am still a member of Fitness First and I plan to take going to the gym more seriously in 2006. I've started saving money in 2004 - i do have some available already but i haven't invested any of it. Maybe in 2006 i will be thinking of something. I've started my MBA 2+ years already and i am going to finish this around 2007, hopefully with honors. I have let go of most of my excess baggage, there are very few things i regret doing.

The only thing i haven't done yet is Live on My Own. That is indeed a big step. Maybe i will think about this soon.

Merry CHRISTmas

Merry Christmas!
I have a list of people I know...All witten in a book, and every now and then.. I go and take a look. That is when I realize these names....they are a part, not of the book they are written in...but rather taken from my heart. For each name stands for someone who has crossed my path sometime, and in that meeting they have become...the reason and the rhyme. Athough it sounds fantastic for me to make this claim, I am really composed of each remembered name. Although you're not aware of any special link, just knowing you has shaped my life...more than you could think. So please don't think my greeting as just a mere routine, your name was not forgotten in between. For when I send you a greeting that is addressed to you, it is because you are on the list of people i'm indebted to. So whether I have known you for many days or few, in some ways you have a part in shaping the things I do. I am but a total of many people I've met....you are a friend I would prefer never to forget! (Taken from an e-mail I got from a friend)

Today is CHRISTmas day! Its the most wonderful time of the year because this day marks the day Christ was born. There are so many things to be grateful for, so many people who mean so much, so many things that I have been blessed with. Truly, God is good all the time.

(The picture above was taken during the IE Reggae Xmas Party @ Jona's house. I am here with friends Van, DJ, Jona and Trixy in front of this very pretty Christmas tree).

Remembering 2005

I decided to write about 2005 now and reserve my post by the end of the year to things i should look forward to in 2006. In retrospect, 2005 has been a particularly great year professionally and personally. There has been good progress professionally and i have thoroughly enjoyed my activities outside of work. I don't really have a detailed recollection about everything that has happened in 2005 but i do remember a lot of the good ones.

MBA. Yes, i'm not done yet with my schooling but i am getting there. I look back and I actually can't believe i can already count my remaining subjects in one hand + 1 finger - hahhaha! yeah, 6 more subjects and i think i am done. What is actually great about it is that right now, my GPA stands at 3.64 (from all my core subjects) so that means if i get to keep my GPA at 3.6 or higher then i will be getting a silver medal when i graduate. Its not really a requirement but since i'm at it then why not? Na-realize ko in my MBA, that experience really makes you richer in life & in knowledge and that when you put your mind to it, you can really do things.

February. I went to Penang, Malaysia to attend a Face-to-Face meeting. I think this was the first trip i had when i was with Lea and Raf at the same time. While we didn't really go on a mega-shopping spree (cause there's nothing to buy there that you can't buy in Manila), i did enjoy this trip a bit cause this was one of those few times wherein i traveled with companions.

April. Boracay trip. I finally got to go to boracay this year with trixy, jona, van, allan and jerk. While this trip was after the Holy Week (where its really packed), there were still quite a lot of people out there. It was 4 days & 3 nights of absolute bliss. Granted that the first 2 nights we didn't really sleep at all due to non-stop partying, there was no cause to complain. The sand was powdery white literally, there was a lot of beautiful & yummy people by the beach and having breakfast in front of the beach was divine. No laptop in tow, armed with a digital cam that could shoot 600 shots and my ipod, it was a trip to paradise. I will go back to Boracay soon.

June. How quickly time pass by? I turned 31 this year. I can't believe i'm that old now. Looking back at 31 years of my life, there were indeed a lot of ups & downs but those experiences helped shape me to be the person i am today.

July. I don't know if i got the month right but i think it was in July when we went back (after a long hiatus) to Hacienda Malasmas. It was also the first time when so many people decided to join the overnight - i think there were around 30+ of us who went to Quezon. The trip was fun though nobody got drunk but having everybody there - it was just nice to see both familiar and new faces and not think about work.

August. My nephew turned 2 this year and we had a Jollibee party for him. Until now, i can't believe how much our family and our house changed when Jacob was born. There's much more joy in the house today with the little tot running around and messing everything up. I love my nephew so much and that everytime he hugs me tightly and give me a big kiss, it just amazes me how much you can really love a person. My nephew is a Godsend.

October. I practically was in the US the entire October shuttling from Chandler to New Mexico to Folsom to Oregon and Chandler again. It was a lot of networking and face-to-face and department meetings. It was one of the trips that was laid back and the first time i wasn't so stressed with baskets of ARs. There were a lot of people (from Cavite) during that trip - we didn't arrive all at the same time and we had different trip objectives but it was the first time that there were so many of us out there all at the same time. I was able to go to Monument Valley and see awesome views of mountains of rock, cliffs and canyons. I was able to tour San Francisco for the first time and walk to parts of the Golden Gate Bridge. That trip opened up for me a lot of new possibilities.

November. We didn't really plan it and wasn't really looking forward so much about it but we went to Sagada out of Dennis' behest. Mel, Trixy, Jason, Dennis, Ali and myself took a bus and went back to Sagada (at least for Mel & I). We didn't expect the trip to be as fun as it turned out to be and the trip was something really worth remembering. We did the Big Falls pahirap-trek + the Cave Exploration, tried out some overly sweet yoghurt and then some really awesome cheese pancakes. We had i think around 600 photos all-in-all + 2 hours worth of videos which Trixy painstakingly rolled into a short video for us to remember the trip. I think we bonded well during that trip that everytime i look at the video, i get this warm feeling remembering how fun the trip was.

December. As usual, lots of social obligations during December. There were a lot of visitors from all over (see my previous posts) so we had lots of dinners and night outs and i even went to Greenhills. Mind you, i RARELY go to greenhills and its not because i don't like the bargains out there, its just that i kind get freaked out pag masyadong public and open yung place. OA di ba? But yeah, i do get freaked out kaya i usually prefer to shop sa mall kasi i feel safer. Ewan ko ba? I'm really not pretending to be sosy or something, i just feel weird e pero i can go there naman. The IE Xmas Party was a blast this year! Not only did everybody (well everybody that matters) go, but it was just pure madness hahaha we have A LOT of pictures and videos that inspired me to actually create a video. Si DJ pa din ang resident video artist namin but i had too much fun i actually got inspired to create a video. This year was also when JakNat (Jakob Nathan), my godson, turned 1. Imagine? he's 1 already --- told you bilis ng ikot ng panahon. Gizelle also got married to Larry at the San Agustin Church. I haven't received the pictures for that yet but seeing somebody close to us in a very special moment was heartwarming. We miss Gizie pero we all have learned to move on with our lives.

Others. This year i met a lot of great people. Dino, Jim & Ramil - people from MBA, Ramil & Jim are lawyers and Dino works in a bank. Jap, Annie, Eric, Louie & Marivee - wow, can you believe that in one class, we've managed to be really good friends. Stan & Rozmeh - sila ang ever-constant friendship ko sa MBA, both of them work at Shell. I met & became friends with other very interesting people : JM, Richard, Dada, Aimee, Imee, Bryan.

This year, i also finally learned to let go of somebody who meant so much to me. I've moved on. I realized that I don't need somebody to be happy cause happiness comes from within. I'd like to think we still are friends - i still don't know but maybe everything has a reason and it will work out for the best. I miss you sometimes and I wish things would have been different. I wish you happiness and love and all the good things that were meant for you.

Tonight, we're having a 10-lb roast turkey, some lengua, crispy pata and some valencia paella (i think that's what they call it). Dunno why we're having a turkey - yung brother ko ang may gusto nun actually. Its Jesus' birthday e so we should really celebrate it. I'm not sure yet what we're having for New Year - we usually have more during the New Year. Holidays, so much food ... so many calories ... but who's counting?

IE X'Mas Reggae Party 2005

December 16, 2005. Everybody at the office couldn't wait for 4pm to come since this day the whole IE group is going to celebrate its christmas party at Jona's house. Aside from the IE's, there were actually a lot of extended invites (creed, bene, park, allan, jerk, jeck, elmer, trixy, donelly, francis & myself).

This year's party theme was REGGAE so everybody was dressed at their reggae best with brightly colored beads, bonnets, caps and reggae shirts. Food was catered and both beer and sponsored Smirnoff (thanks Gib!) drinks were free-flowing. There were games - Cliptomania mixed with Name that Song, Talong race and Sing-along towards the latter part of the night. I think i answered 80% of the movies in the Cliptomania game but not a lot of the name that song. I guess i know more POP (stands for popular) tunes and the songs were so not pop. The Talong race was so funny, dunno how trixy did the race in her short-skirt, sleeveless outfit. Out of that race was born "virgin boy" and bene pulled off drinking one bottle of san mig light straight up! Bene was the man!!! Our team was competing as if it was the SEA games hahaha. By the time we got to the sing along games, everybody was pretty much beat and tipsy from drinking a mixture of beer, smirnoff and JBL. Some were unusually loud and oblivious to what they were doing or saying and there were others who at the start didn't want to sing but couldn't let go of the microphone after. Pictures were being snapped everywhere and at any time it makes you wonder whether you looked decent in some of the shots. Videos were there to capture all the good moments where people were decent and where others were making fools out of themselves. Everything though was being done for the fun of it --- FUN OF IT DAW O!!!! Lagot kayo sa movie, di ba DJ? hahaha

Earlier during the night, we were treated (or tortured) to some songs by van, jowell, park and creed. There was "Maling Akala" and "Pinoy Ako" where Jowell sang his heart (and guts) out. Well, he usually sings nice but this time around, i guess he decided to do things "differently!" The band playing actually signalled the start of really awesome night. Jowell was the only one who had to leave early since he had some family stuff to attend to. Too bad yance, you missed a really great party!!!

What's a christmas party without exchanging gifts right? Well, we did the White Elephant thing again this year with MORE participants. This time around, the gifts were better (dahil useful most of it) except sa ESPADA NI PANDAY which Iam picked out in an inconspicuous MANGO paperbag. That was really funny (at galing kay yance ang espada hahaha) and everybody was laughing so hard when that gift was opened. I got a neat puppy stuffed toy (courtesy of mama ria) and i really loved it. Iam's Panday toy for sure will be recycled for her nephews this Xmas. See, no gift wasted.

We called it a night around 3am. By this time, people were either drunk (not tipsy) or were ready for bed. Jona was her usual cheery (read: between tipsy & drunk) self, Hazel talked in english (considering donelly left way back), Migs was DRUNK, and ewan ko ba what sort of sordid state everybody elses was. Ako, i wasn't really drunk, maybe a bit tipsy with already a slight headache (from dehydration) and definitely ready to jump into bed and sleep.

Rent

Yes, i'm eagerly anticipating the movie adaptation of the broadway hit "Rent." This song is just nice i couldn't get it off my head after hearing it. Its currently the song you hear on my blog - guess i'm keeping this song until probably the end of the year.

Light My Candle - Roger & Mimi
Rent (2005 Movie Soundtrack)

(Roger)
What'd you forget?

(Mimi)
Got a light?

(Roger)
I know you? -- You're --
You're shivering

(Mimi)
It's nothing
They turned off my heat
And I'm just a little
Weak on my feet
Would you light my candle?
What are you staring at?

(Roger)
Nothing
Your hair in the moonlight
You look familiar
Can you make it?

(Mimi)
Just haven't eaten much today
At least the room stopped spinning.
Anyway. What?

(Roger)
Nothing
Your smile reminded me of -

(Mimi)
I always remind people of - who is she?

(Roger)
She died. Her name was April

(Mimi)
It's out again
Sorry about your friend
Would you light my candle?

(Roger)
Well -

(Mimi)
Yeah. Ow!

(Roger)
Oh, the wax - it's

(Mimi)
Dripping! I like it - between my --

(Roger)
Fingers. I figured...
Oh, well. Goodnight.
(Mimi exits; then knocks again)
It blew out again?

(Mimi)
No - I think that I dropped my stash

(Roger)
I know I've seen you out and about
When I used to go out
Your candle's out

(Mimi)
I'm illin' -
I had it when I walked in the door
It was pure -
Is it on the floor?

(Roger)
The floor?

(Mimi)
They say I have the best ass below 14th street
Is it true?

(Roger)
What?

(Mimi)
you're staring again.

(Roger)
Oh no.
I mean you do -- have a nice --
I mean -- You look familiar

(Mimi)
Like your dead girlfriend?

(Roger)
Only when you smile.
But I'm sure I've seen you somewhere else --

(Mimi)
Do you go to the cat scratch club
That's where I work - I dance - help me look

(Roger)
Yes!
They used to tie you up -

(Mimi)
It's a living

(Roger)
I didn't recognize you
Without the handcuffs

(Mimi)
We could light the candle
Oh won't you light the candle

(Roger)
Why don't you forget that stuff
You look like you're sixteen

(Mimi)
I'm nineteen - but I'm old for my age
I'm just born to be bad

(Roger)
I once was born to be bad
I used to shiver like that

(Mimi)
I have no heat - I told you

(Roger)
I used to sweat

(Mimi)
I got a cold

(Roger)
Uh huh
I used to be a junkie

(Mimi)
But now and then I like to --

(Roger)
Uh huh

(Mimi)
Feel good

(Roger)
Here it -- um --

(Mimi)
What's that?

(Roger)
Candy bar wrapper

(Mimi)
We could light the candle
What'd you do with my candle?

(Roger)
That was my last match

(Mimi)
Our eyes'll adjust, thank God for the moon

(Roger)
Maybe it's not the moon at all
I hear Spike Lee's shooting down the street

(Mimi)
Bah humbug ... Bah humbug

(Roger)
Cold hands

(Mimi)
Yours too.
Big. Like my father's
You wanna dance?

(Roger)
With you?

(Mimi)
No - with my father

(Roger)
I'm Roger

(Mimi)
They call me
They call me Mimi

busy busy busy

 

we've had a lot of visitors from all over lately that made it impossible to do any christmas

shopping.  dinners, movie, shopping ... lots of socializing activities.  sad to say, even if i

did promise to do my christmas shopping early this year, it has yet become another statistic

in the book of promises broken.  jakob nathan's birthday is next sunday and i still need to

buy a nice gift since he is my godson.  gizelle's wedding is the day after and i haven't

bought anything to wear in that affair yet.  i am going to be the lector for the mass (i think

the last time i did this was back in high school .... sheesh!).  i haven't started the misallette

for gizelle's wedding too - no materials yet, nothing, nada, zip!  i am procastinating again -

its a bad trait and i should kick it off in 2006.  i just think and work faster when pressed for

time but it has become an increasingly annoying habit and its taking its toll on my poor,

fragile body.

 

there's a farewell dinner for dennis tonight and the other IEs.  Yet another social activities.

it sort of becomes a social obligation especially if you've made real 'friends' with whoever

is leaving.  i don't usually mind the late hour but lately i've sorta liked hanging at home.

i've become addicted to my PC at home - not games, but mainly downloading the latest

mp3s and US tv shows.

 

this christmas vacation, i plan to clean up my outlook e-mails - it sort of a tradition yearly

for me to clean up all those non-sense emails.  start the year fresh.  i need to also clean

up my mp3s - there's like 80GB worth of MP3's right now and i need to standardize how

the files are names and tag them too.  i don't even think one week is enough to do the

mp3 clean-up.  there are even around 20 dvd's i haven't seen yet of the past movies plus

i haven't really seen season 1 & 2 of alias including season 2 and 3 of smallville.

 

busy busy busy ....

one year in 3 bullets

i passed my accomplishment report yesterday and what occurred to me

is how difficult was it to summarize my accomplishments in one page.  i'm

not saying that i accomplished a million things in 2005 but it felt like an

injustice to try and squeeze together one full year of achievements to meet

a 1-page guideline.  i actually couldn't keep my mouth shut so i told my boss

sarcastically that i was concerned to summarize my accomplishments in three

main bullets just to meet his 1-page guideline.

 

can you imagine if you can sum up one year of your life in 1-page?  if you can,

that doesn't seem to be life at all.

focal fever ...

what keeps us busy aside from the CHRISTmas season during december and the

multitude of parties that we need to attend to is the thought that the year is

coming to a close.  what this means for a lot of us is to start remembering what

significant projects we've managed to accomplish during the year and try to capture

that in an eloquent manner simple enough for your manager to understand and

defend it.

 

over the course of working for intel and taking my MBA, the most sane work advices

i have heard have increased a bit and there are indeed some of them worthy to take

heart.  Work now, the money will come later.  this is what one of my professors

in organizational behavior said and he quoted this based from his experience of starting

from the bottom-up.  i think there is a lot of wisdom in this saying and it is really

important for us to level our expectations - meaning not expect too much too soon.

Patience is a virtue.  it really is! when they say "good things come to those who

wait," i think in more ways, people eventually get rewarded - how quickly is something

i can't answer.  i think the world has an invisible way of setting things right, that sooner

or later, if you really are good (you think you are, and other people think the same) then

your accomplishments will speak for itself.  Work well to earn their respect.  over the

years, i have come to realize that it pays well to work well and establishing good business

rapport with the people you work with pays off handsomely.  your 360 degree feedback

will come with glowing reviews how easy it was to work with you, how you are a teamplayer,

how your leadership talents show and how you have a  lot of potential.  if you're manager

doesn't see your potential before, pretty soon, the reviews will be bound to contradict

his perception.  The dictionary is the only place where success comes before work.

there are a lot of them out there who thinks they can get ahead without actually putting

in the work.  wake up! also remember that its not only the quantity that matters but the

quality of work that you put in that counts most.

 

in my eight years of stay, i think i've gotten good at writing accomplishment reports. 

the key is to exaggerate your accomplishments without lying about your contributions. 

You pad those accomplishments by using good adjectives.  If you have a laundry list of

accomplishments, group them into leadership, productivity & savings, systems/biz process

improvements and in that order.  summarize your accomplishment in one GRAND statement

(or stitch up a few sentences together).  you should say "exemplary leadership in managing"

rather than "lead a team of ...blah." remember, managers are pitting you with your peers so

its important that you call out the accomplishments that differs from the others.  projects

that can be proliferated into the VF usually have major points than if you will implement it

locally.  although of course in one portion or another you should be able to say that aside

from these million projects your involved with, you are able to meet the basic expectations

of your work.  how would it look like if you write, managed and organized 20 intel successful

events and then the extra curricular activities cut into you being able to do your real job. 

super duh di ba?

 

last thing to remember is that no matter how glowing your accomplishment reports look like,

there is always a possibility that somebody has accomplished more than what you have

accomplished during the year.  it doesn't mean however that you can't get a good raise. 

oh well, focal ... can't really please everybody.

emily rose

i don't know why i went to see the movie "exorcism of emily rose" with my officemates tonight. that was one of the creepiest & scary movie i've seen in a while. and i am not really squimish and i don't really scare easily but this film creeped me out. it was probably because the film is based on a true story that made it more "possible" and therefore more "affecting." i got goosebumps during the exorcism scene and my eyes were half-opened during most of the scary scenes.

sheesh ... i'm definitely not getting out of bed at 3am!!!

eternal sunshine of the spotless mind

"How happy is the blameless vestal's lot!
The world forgetting, by the world forgot.
Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind!
Each pray'r accepted, and each wish resign'd"

i decided to see eternal sunshine of the spotless mind because my curiousity got the better of me when trixy (on our way back from our sagada trip) said it was one of the best movies she's seen. this dvd has been with me for months now and i never found the time to pop it in the dvd player.

i must admit that the movie was a bit heavy and there were actually parts of the film that bored me - but overall, i think the movie was told ingeniously you'd wonder if this has really any semblance of reality of is it just pure fiction. i think eternal sunshine is a movie not meant to depict the real world in the sense that we know it but its actually shown in a way that allows us to explore the what-ifs in life. i must admit that i found the possibility of targetted memory erasing very appealing - that if only we have that now then maybe we can forget about anything that can cause us pain. i guess i am torn however between creating my own personal utopia (read : painless, no heartache) and what pain, trials & tribulations really creates in us - a strong and more resilient person. But more than that, the movie is about LOVE and how it brings two people who elected to erase their memories of each other together for the second time. How "meant to be's" are really meant to be and how love finds a way to bring them back together.

i know there are a lot of good films like this i haven't seen yet and eternal sunshine is really a good film. if you are patient enough to sit down and watch the film in its entirety, you are bound to actually enjoy it.

sagada - day 1

november 25-26, 2005. everybody was quite ecstatic and jittery the whole friday afternoon waiting for work day to end and begin our sagada adventures. we braved friday night traffic, drove through mcdonalds for dinner and stopped over shangri la in makati to pick up dennis' things. there were six of us - mel, jona, jason, trixy, dennis (from costa rica) and myself - mel & i were veteran sagada adventurers and the rest were first timers.

it was actually surreal to ride a public transportation again - i mean the bus and everything. i can barely remember the last time i rode a public transportation (save for those cab & plane rides overseas but you know what i mean). we took a cab to the bus station and patiently waited along with a number of would-be vacationers for our bus to start loading. we left around 10pm to begin our arduous journey to sagada - expecting to get there around 5am. the trip was a bit uncomfortable - being in a cramped seat and trying to sleep and drink little fluid so we don't need to use the bathroom that often.

we got to banaue around 7am - 2hours off our ETA. it was raining and people were tired and hungry. we booked our return ticket and decided to rent a jeep going to sagada thinking if it was raining, we wouldn't really be able to take some nice photos of the rice terraces. we stopped over viewpoint overlooking a portion of the rice terraces and decided to take some pictures. the rice terraces is still as magnificent as last time i was here - we enjoyed taking some scenic background shots. it was chilly with the rain but we were in high spirits. when we got back to the road, it took us another hour or so to get to bontoc, the town proper. we took lunch here and some pictures and was amazed how clean bontoc was. there were no litter whatsoever on the streets - it was a town reminiscent probably of the time before when life was simple and people were much more caring of the environment. if makati would look anything like bontoc, it will be like our very own singapore right in metro manila.

when we got to sagada, it was quite cold - not freezing, but it was cold! we were lucky that the house we rented last time we were here had 3 rooms to spare - it was perfect. we all got a few hours of rest and we were ready to trek to echo valley. by this time, we were so excited with the new surroundings and adventure ahead. along the way, we passed by an old cemetery and saw that some of the graves here were for people who were born way back in 1898. that is like 76 years before i was born. this was really a cemetery that witnessed history. when we finally got to echo valley, the scenery was just too beautiful and the sky was perfect for taking pictures. the cliffs were kinda scary but that didn't really stop us from taking a number of pictures and videos. dennis and jason posed for some goofy shots and we were laughing throughout the trek.

after echo valley, we trooped to go to the burial caves and walked for about 30-45minutes only to end up in the wrong cave. major blooper! i think the only thing that kept us from slapping mel for that blooper was because our feet ached so bad it was not even possible to raise an arm - hahaha. after walking back, we finally found the trail to the burial caves. these burial caves were different because you get to see up close the wooden coffins and how they're lined up to interesting spaces along the cave walls. some more pictures and we were ready to call it a day.

on the walk back, we were planning to try out the yoghurt house - friends were saying it was a must try. it was packed so we decided to try our luck the next day.

day 1 trip essentials. camera. camera. camera. videocam. music stuff - either an ipod, rio, minidisc or a shuffle. i think you'd better throw in a tube of liniment.