i've been trying to wean myself of something. it seems that i'm either a baby or an addict. or maybe a little bit of both. i've had a few slip ups and i've been scolding myself for all of those instances. i'm just hoping that in time, it'll be easier and i'll get rid of this habit eventually.
in the mean time, i have to go through the pains of it.
start of the year. and really, i haven't done much retrospective thinking or any planning for the future. it might be because i am still in vacation mode and i don't want to do a lot of thinking these days. also because these days, thinking makes me reason and sometimes, it really doesn't help my state of being.
i was looking at my previous posts just to give me an insight on what happened last year. i've been remiss in my writing in this blog. i guess my problem is that i procrastinate a lot of times and then everything balloons up. instead of starting with the writing, i just don't write. period. i know it does not make sense but that was what i kept on doing. hopefully, i won't be doing that this year. (is that a resolution?)
this time last year, i was having the same shitty feeling. and nothing could put things into perspective than seeing it in black and white. makes me wonder how i got so... stupid. but i made an ultimatum and i'm sticking to it. so that goodbye really is final. (God help me if i back out of this again).
2008 was a year of challenges for me. ang dami kong trials when it came to work. it was my first time to lead an RTCIS project. halos duguin ako sa mga projects na hinawakan ko. i know i still have a lot to learn on being a project manager. and i am hoping that my experiences have taught me to be a better PM. i helped in creating an RFP. ang hirap din niya, especially when it has to be done immediately and of course, knowing what depends on what you produce. i am still awed by how good some of my teammates are. sometimes i wish i was that good as well. but most of the time, i am just proud of them. it was my first time to go outside of the account this year, too. it was my first glimpse on how true consulting work is. ang hirap din pala niya. it was a good experience, though. and that's not even couting the fact that because of it, i was able to go to france, italy and monaco. it's also my first time to lead a project out of emea. the nice thing about that is, i was recommended by our client manager to do the job. nakakataba rin ng puso knowing that people believe in what you can do. because of this, i was able to go to madrid and meet a lot of wonderful people.
on the personal side, i don't think i've progressed much. i went out with a couple of people, mostly for coffee. with one, i realized that there's no point in holding on to the ideas i had in the past when we've obviously changed a lot after 10 years. with the other, i realized that there's no point in holding on to possibilities of the future. karla was civilly married this year. unfortunately, i was not in the philippines for it. she gave birth to yuan patrick, an amazingly wonderful baby. thankfully, i was here for that one. yuan would always smile and make adorable sounds, you cannot help but fall in love with him. our family went to boracay for a vacation and to celebrate ate tetet and kuya weng's anniversary. it was a first for our family and we had loads of fun (especially during our foodtrips!). a couple of my friends and colleagues got married this year, too --- rolan and krizel, roland and lu, jay and ninay, myn and lloyd. i've also made contact with some friends from long ago (thanks in part to facebook... hehehe!)
overall, it's been a good year. a lot of challenges but a lot of blessings too. i am hoping that 2009 will be a better year for me, though. :)
went out last night with the girls --- emma and bea. friends sila ni alba (yung project manager na pinalitan ko). nakakatuwa sila kasi very friendly talaga. emma is upbeat and positive. bea is very nice... kahit na minsan, nahihirapan siyang mag-english, kinakausap pa rin niya ako. she's always smiling and is very sweet. well, akala ko kaming tatlo lang ang lalabas pero sinama nila si alberto. alberto is one of their teammates. nung umpisa, di niya ako kinakausap. siguro, hindi rin sanay mag-english. medyo awkward kasi siya yung naging driver namin tapos ako yung pinaupo nila sa front seat. we went to this place near islas filipinas, which is near emma's house. nakita ko nga yung istatwa ni rizal so sabi ko, i have to take a picture. nun lang nila nalaman na si rizal yung national hero ng pinas.
anyway, we went to this restaurant called alcaravea and the food was great! :) ang nakakatuwa, aside from the chopito (parang calamares pero baby cuttlefish ang gamit), puro bago yung mga kinain ko. may parang lumpia na may seafood sa loob tapos tomato marmalade yung sauce. then there was tuna with fresh tomatoes (and i don't usually like fresh tomatoes but these were really good), and then 7 kinds of mushrooms with eggs. syempre, yung chopito. and white wine. kami lang girls actually ang umubos ng isang bote ng white wine. hehehe! and again, i am not a big fan of wines pero ok yung pinili ni emma. :)
the conversation started with us noticing that the waiter was very animated with talking to bea. and to think, si emma yung madalas dun. sabi nga nila, kahit daw ako e nakapansin and to think na wala akong naintindihan sa sinabi nung waiter. then albert started telling me about bea and diego, na gusto daw ni diego si bea, which bea vehemently denied. hahaha... so nakisakay lang ako. sabi ko, itatanong ko ke diego para straight from the source. basically, dun umikot yung conversation namin... ke bea. sabi ko nga, baka si albert, may gusto din ke bea kaya niya laging tinutukso sa iba. saka kasi, lagi daw siya binu-bully ni bea. e kung di niya type si bea, papa-bully ba siya? hehehe... just my two cents. sa panunukso namin ke bea, tinanong nila kung meron daw bang tsismis sa pinas. basta ang sabi ko lang, mahal ng mga girls si pablo. hehehe... :) sabi ko kay bea, masanay na siya sa pagiging center of attention. sabi ko, e anong magagawa mo, maganda ka? hehehe... :D
anyway, i really had fun with the dinner. nakakatuwa kasi effort talaga sila to make me feel welcome here. totoo pala ang sabi ni jaime... i will love it here in madrid. :)
it was my first weekend in madrid and i was alone. don't get me wrong, wala naman akong reklamo. there are good points in being alone in a new place. wala akong kelangang intindihing iba... kung kelan ko gustong umalis, ok lang. kung saan ko gustong pumunta, ok lang din. although, there are also some not-so-good points... like, mahirap kumuha ng picture mag-isa. either nagmumukha akong ewan kumuha ng picture ko or kakapalan ko ang mukha ko para mag-request sa ibang tao na kuhanan ako ng picture. care naman ng ibang tao sa picture na kukunin nila para sa akin diba? (audrey, i miss youuuuu!!!) lonely din umikot mag-isa... wala kang kukuwentuhan o wala kang kasama kumain.
marami akong napuntahan sa weekend ko sa madrid... first stop, templo de debod. the temple is dedicated to the gods amon and isis and was donated to spain by the egyptian government. sayang lang, hindi na ako nakapasok kasi maaga nagsasarado yung temple. next stop was plaza de espana. on my way to the sabatini gardens, nadaanan ko din yung senate building. i liked the gardens kasi kita mo yung palacio real sa tabi. dati daw dito nakatira yung mga monarchs pero di na ngayon. ginagamit na lang for official ceremonies. pwede din atang pumasok kaya lang, hindi na rin ako nakapasok sa loob. so picture na lang sa labas. sa tapat ng palacio real is plaza de oriente. katabi naman niya yung catedral de la almudena. sakto naman na pagpasok ko, nagsisimula na yung misa. so nagsimba na ako. syempre, espanyol yung salita. at least, na-gets ko kung ano yung gospel, for a change. after ng misa, naglakad-lakad pa ako ng konti tapos umabot ako sa plaza de la villa at sa plaza mayor. kahit na late na, marami pa ring tao sa plaza mayor. dun na ako nag-dinner, sa museo del jamon. naisip ko, since kilala ang spain sa hamon, might as well yun ang kainin ko. bumili ako ng bocadillo de jamon (basically, french bread na may palaman na hamon) saka paella de embotido (chorizo, 2 klase ng ham at keso). akala ko, di ako maso-sobrahan sa ham pero ang dami kasi kaya medyo nagsawa ako. hehehehe...
next day, marami akong planong puntahan. yun lang, pagdating ko sa parque retiro, wala na daw battery yung camera ko!!! so bumalik pa ulet ako sa hotel para mag-charge ulet (chinarge ko naman yung battery ko nung gabi). anyway, nung feeling ko may charge na ulet yung camera ko, bumalik ako dun. unang photo op ko is sa puerta de alcala. tapos pumunta na ako sa parque retiro. in fairness, maganda talaga yung park kasi ang daming pwedeng picture-an. ang daming fountains, statues, tapos meron pang lake. tapos sa loob ng park, andun din yung museo nacional centro de arte reina sofia (wooosh, ang haba!) saka yung palacio de cristal. nung pauwi, dumaan ako sa puerta del sol saka balik ulet sa plaza mayor.
marami pa akong gustong puntahan... sana next weekend, pwede pa. :)
nakaka-dismayang isipin na merong mga tao na kayang ipagpalit ang tama dahil lang sa pera. i don't want to seem holier-than-thou and i may be clueless to their reasons or i just never went through what they're undergoing. i may be too sheltered or protected in my life to understand. and i can't meld the idea that someone who's supposed to know better and you're supposed to look up to would be the one to do that. hay... di ko talaga maintindihan. o baka ayaw ko lang siyang intindihin.
ok, so it's been some time now since i last put up a post. it's been busy but i know that's not an excuse.
so what's been happening to me?
- went home after my three-month stint in france
- was assigned to an australia project but did not push through
- took on another project based in australia when one of my teammates resigned
- was asked to help out another project for the site CMMI certification
- took on a new project based in jeddah and will be flying to spain
on the personal side,
- met with the tsongers and planned for a euro-trip (di ko lang sure kung tutuloy talaga ito)
- karla gave birth to yuan patrick, i am an aunt for the third time. :)
- carmel, our friend from cincinnati, came to visit
- met with ginia, jwo and rona - gels in manila reunion
- we had our company sportsfest - we're back-to-back champions in bowling and our tower is hailed overall champion! :)
- met with ariel for coffee, catching up
- faye went to the US for her first business trip. woohooo!!!
- tower planning session and offsite in nasugbu!
- krizzie and rolan's wedding in nasugbu!
- fitting for myn and lloyd's wedding
- oliver's 3rd birthday! :)
- yuan's baptism and sofia's 3rd birthday! :)
- tsongers get-together for rose's birthday
- videoke and celebration dinner with stip, lex, rogel and shane
- benedict's first birthday!
i'll try to post more in the coming days, weeks and months.
hello everyone!
kamusta na kayo? it's down to our last 2 working days (holiday dito sa 14) so medyo sagaran na kami sa trabaho. marami pa kasing kelangang tapusin bago kami umuwi. buti na lang at wala na pala akong review sessions with our BPO so puro docs na lang ang kelangan kong gawin. no more meetings! wooohooo!!!
by the way, ayos na yung issue namin. salamat sa mga dasal nyo. iniintay na lang namin na mag-handover si papa perci next monday then we can FINALLY relax. or at least, hindi na namin siya iisipin forever and ever. pero as i am writing this, meron na ulet akong bagong project. o ha. sabi ko nga, baka may galit sa akin ang boss ko at ayaw akong pagpahingahin. sunud-sunod kasi mga projects ko. overlapping na nga. kakaloka!
anyway, weekend kuwento...
saturday, nagpunta kami sa fort l'ecluse. malapit lang siya sa tinitirahan namin. siguro mga 20 mins by drive. nakita kasi namin siya one time nung pauwi kami kasi naka-light siya. e parang interesting so nag-decide kami na dun pumunta this time kasi wala naman kaming long drive plans. tapos kasi, naawa sina joanne sa kasama naming indian (kasi siya na lang ang indian na naiwan dito tapos wala pa siyang kotse) so nag-isip kami kung saan siya pwede dalhin ng sabado.
anyway, di naman kagandahan yung fort. well, fort lang siya. puro bato saka malamig. siguro kasi nasa bundok. ang masaya nun, may pangalawang fort sa taas. kelangan naming umakyat ng 850++ steps para makarating sa taas. workout ito! pero since sabi nung guide, ok daw akyatin, umakyat din kami. in fairness, maganda nga naman talaga ang view sa itaas. :) syempre, picture taking ulet. may na-meet pala kami dung english na nakatira sa germany na naka-business trip sa geneva pero sa france nagse-stay (o ha, saan ka pa?). glynis ang pangalan niya. translator siya ng docs. from german, french, italian to english. hindi ko na nakuha yung sagot kung ilan yung languages na alam niya pero obviously marami. :) kinukuwentuhan niya kami ng history ng kung anu-anong lugar, kung paano yumaman ang switzerland, kung saan maganda pumunta sa france. sabi nga niya, ang dami daw niya sanang isa-suggest na places sa geneva pero hindi naman kami pwede dun diba?
nung pauwi na kami, yung isa sa mga guide, tinanong kami kung gusto naming bumalik ng 830 pm kasi meron daw festival dun. meron daw music, dancing and story telling. since wala naman kaming gagawin, sabi namin, sige. so kain lang kami ng dinner dun sa favorite naming turkish resto tapos balik na kami. yun nga lang na-late kami pabalik so hindi kami nakasama dun sa unang story telling. wala naman kaming masyadong na-miss kasi french naman yung salita. di rin namin naintindihan. tapos meron silang sayaw... tapos story telling ulet... tapos sayaw ulet... tapos story telling. dun sa isang story telling, merong isang lalaki na nag-offer sa amin ng kumot (kasi may kumot dun sa mga upuan dahil malamig yung room). tapos kinausap pa kami nung after ng story telling, tinanong kung may naintindihan kami. sabi namin, syempre wala. so deadma lang, diba? until yung last presentation, pinatayo niya kami tapos pinasayaw. sabi niya, dapat daw kami sumali kasi nasa first row kami. e di sama naman kami. parang magkakahawak lang kayo ng kamay tapos mag-skip around kayo. yun pala, taga-dito sa ST micro yung lalaki. kaibigan siya nung isang contact namin. no wonder familiar. buti na lang at sinabihan siya ng asawa niya na i-check kung nare-recognize ba namin siya. hehehe... gilbert yung name niya tapos galing siya originally sa togo. yung asawa niya, si elke, german na taga-hp. sabi ni mommy jo, kasama daw sa legal counsel si elke. o diba? :) after nung sayawan, merong cocktails. pika-pika, pastries, may wine din. andun din pala si glynis, kasama yung landlady niya. so all-in-all, nag-enjoy naman kami ng todo. :)
sunday, pumunta naman kami sa yvoire. medieval town daw siya dito sa france. maliit lang siya pero maganda. nasa tabi siya ng leman lake. out of the goodness of our (well, mommy jo talaga) hearts, sinama namin yung teammate naming indian. yun nga lang, nainip ata sa kaka-picture namin dun sa yvoire, nagsarili. hehehe... si mommy jo naman, natuwa masyado kaka-picture. sayang nga kasi naubusan na kami ng battery bago namin na-picture-an yung port. maganda din kasi yun. inabot kami ng ulan pero ok lang kasi pauwi na naman kami nung umulan ng malakas. yun nga lang si chloe (yung gps namin), dinirect kami sa geneva. buti na lang at naisip namin na border na yung parang toll booth kaya umikot na lang kami. so far, wala pa naman kaming encounter with the swiss police. hehehe...
6 more days to go and we're home. wooohooo!!! ang sad nga lang is kelangan na naming magpaalam sa mga tao dito. kanina, nakipagusap sa amin yung project manager namin dahil babalik siya ng milan today so wala siya dito til friday. e since iyakin nga ako, ayun, umiyak ako nung time ko na magsalita. kakahiya. pero kasi, na-sad talaga din ako na magpapaalam na kami sa kanya tapos syempre, nagpasalamat ako sa lahat ng ginawa niya for us. sobrang bait kasi nun. saka sabi ko nga sa kanya, gets ko kung gaano kahirap yung trabaho niya. so bow ako, pramis.
mom, ates, kuya, na-send ko na yung flight details ko. :) kuys, don't forget to bring the car to tito ely bago dumami lalo ang sira.
mynmyna, advanced happy birthday!!! saan kayo mag-celebrate? :)
romer, belated happy birthday naman sa iyo! :)
agee, konti na lang, mababawasan na ang pasanin mo. di na "pasan ko ang daigdig" ang theme mo. hehehe... mySAP na lang!!!
see you soon, everyone!!! mwah mwah!
