damn...

when you don't know what you're doing, you get into very difficult positions. i know. i just got into a "sticky" situation and i'm trying to cover up my incompetence.

*now this gets a bit technical so i wouldn't mind it a bit if you decide to skip reading the next part of my entry*

our server is changing its digital certificate and i was asked to relay this to the affected parties in asia. and so when the documents were available, i immediately sent out a mail about this. however, i did not have the complete list of contacts so i contacted my counterpart in europe to check if he has one. unfortunately, he still didn't have the list. he then proceeded to tell me that the change wouldn't really affect a lot of suppliers unless they do client authentication on us since the CA certificate did not change. up to this point, things were going ok until i got an email from one of the suppliers saying the exact same thing! it really made me look as if i don't know what i am doing (well, that IS true but i wouldn't want them to know that!). and so i just said that he was right in saying so but we still recommend that the certificates be installed all the same. he then replied that he had the same experience last year and based from that, there was no benefit from installing the certificates on their side. and i totally understand his point. and so i replied to his mail telling him to just contact us on monday if ever any issues arise.

aaaaaaaaaaaargh! i really hate being new in my field. well not really because it's been five months. but obviously, i still have a lot to learn and i have to do it fast. sometimes i wonder why can't everything be taught all at once? why can't i learn everything at the start? then i wouldn't have to go through with this. *sigh*

wish list

christmas is just a few days away and i still haven't saved up for my christmas shopping. seems that i will be digging into my 13th month pay after all. that is, if there will still be anything left after the bills get paid.

i am starting to think of my "wish list", hopefully i can get something nice for myself this year. tita nona will be sending us a package from the states this year and i asked for perfume (me being to stringent to buy anything expensive). i asked for either clinique happy or elizabeth arden green tea. my current supply of green tea given to me by irish last christmas, is on hold for the moment. i'm only using it on special occasions saving the small amount that's left.

i would really want to have a digital camera that i could bring when i get to travel on my projects. i don't really like a very high-tech camera but i don't want the low end either that would soon be obsolete. but then again, a digital camera costs heaps so i probably need more time to save up for that.

right now, i am hoping to get my hands on two cd's: beautiful life by guy sebastian and mistaken identity by delta goodrem. my friends probably are getting tired of hearing me talk and blog about them but for the last year, they have been my absolutely super duper mega favorite singers. mistaken identity is still to be released this november and beautiful life has just been released middle of this month so it would take some time before these appear on the shelves here in the philippines. unless i could find a way to go back to australia... hmmmm...

inspired

i just attended a workshop on material supply planning, something that is somehow connected to my line of work. more than understanding what it was all about, i went there to network with people that i would eventually be working with on projects within asia. i probably suffered information overload starting from the first day where we had a four-hour session with the overview up to the next two days that tackled everything in detail. aside from that, i think i had a mild case of nerves since this was the first time i was presenting in front of a large group of people. thankfully, the presentation went well thanks in large part to a number of people who answered questions that i either don't know the answer to or have totally forgotten.

one of the highlights of that workshop was meeting tony. tony is the global msm leader for one of the business units and part of the project board connected to my work. i have been talking with him and attending his meetings for some time now and he has always imparted a lot of knowledge and good advice. so when he suggested to have a one-on-one session with me, i was both excited and nervous. what was he going to ask me? should i prepare anything? what if he thought i was incapable of handling the projects in asia? i shouldn't have dwelt so much on these thoughts because tony was very pleasant and accomodating, i actually had fun talking to him. and as always, i learned a lot in our conversation.

having a lot of years and experience in the business, tony knew the ins and outs of msm. as such, he has spent the a considerable amount of effort helping and coaching others in their role as msm leaders. you can see by the way he talks and through his ideas that he loves what he's doing. it's such a refreshing thing to see where a lot of people just try to get on with their day whereas tony actually looks forward going to work. he even said he preferred thinking about his work than watching tv!

i couldn't really describe how inspiring tony is to all of the people in that workshop. let me just say that he is one of the people i truly admire and i am hoping to have the same enthusiasm and love for my work as he does.

lessons

i was riding the shuttle to work when two girls from a school in makati started to discuss about the exams they had for the day. one girl was complaining, "tsong, wala akong alam!". all i can do was shake my head in disbelief. in my mind i was saying, "e di dapat, nag-aral ka para meron kang alam. nde ka sana nagre-reklamo ngayon."

it probably sounds harsh but isn't it supposed to happen that way? you study so you're prepared for your exams. no amount of prayer or complaining can help you when there's nothing in your head in the first place.

i don't know what happened to that girl's exam. part of me wishes she passed it. another part of me wishes she didn't so she'll learn her lessons. i believe some lessons are meant to be learned the hard way.

down the bowling and memory lanes

our company's sportsfest started a few months before. our team reached the finals in both badminton and basketball but unfortunately, lost to the yellow team on both accounts. last friday, we started with the bowling tournament. when donald asked who wanted to be part of the team, the first thing i asked is if he wanted our team to win. i have always been interested in sports. but for some reason, i was never good in any. sure, i can play a number of sports but not one that can win tournaments. and so the question. when he said that we're just playing for fun, i eagerly signed up. good thing i did because i really had fun playing. it's been quite a while since i last played and eventhough i was all nervous and pressured to deliver a good score (i got more than 100 so that is good for me), i still had a grand time. it was also great to get to play with other people from the company. we even got to compete with our big bosses who, may i say, were really up to the task. it was cool getting to cheer and high five with them.

eventhough will lost yet again, i really didn't mind. i got to play bowling, get free pizza, hang out with my friends, meet our bosses and have fun all at the same time. not bad for one friday evening. i'm so looking forward to day 2 of the tournament.

***

while we were in coronado lanes enjoying ourselves, i did kind of become nostalgic. i have always equated bowling to the tsongers and i suddenly realized i missed them. we've spent so many friday nights in festival mall with the neon bowling balls, i wished they were there too. but being in separate countries and different companies, it's not as easy as it was before.

mga tsong, miss ko na kayo!

fashion preview

i was set to go home early when i decided to pass by glorietta. i was nearing the center when i saw a lot of people flocking to see something. i didn't stop initially but my curiosity got the better of me so i decided to stay and watch. good thing i did because it was the philippine fashion design competition hosted by the fashion and design council of the philippines (fdcp), to which a number of the most prestigious and talented philippine designers belong to.

from start to finish, i was dazzled by the creations of the 25 semi-finalists. they were tasked to design and create their own versions of the philippine terno. the creations ranged from simple and elegant to the colorful and intricate. it was definitely a fest to the eyes and i had my own favorites. the panel of judges, who were composed of well-known people from the fashion industry obviously had a hard time choosing the winners.

one of the best presentations was the one by randall solomon. his creation was a colorful mini-skirt terno paired with pink stockings. as the model started in the runway, she released a dozen or so butterflies in the air! it was a really spectacular entry! another entry which really caught my eye was that of lotho's. it was a green terno that looked so much like something for ati-atihan. the strands of the dress sashayed to the beat as the model showcased it on the runway.

the creations that caught the eyes of the sponsors were that of john herrera's, who's creation of a rose-inspired terno earned him the title of mega's most promising designer; brian leyva's whose salmon-colored, cowl-necked terno in pants was intel's choice (one of my favorites as well) and edwin tan's blue and green terno with red accents and a slit way up there made him guess designer of the year.

however, only brian leyva's creation made it to the top five. the other three finalists were dodjie batu with his red and yellow terno with a feather accented hood that turns into a train (one of my favorites as well), jun escario with his pink elegant terno with fuschia sleeves that was assembled so interestingly and ignacio loyola's igorot-inspired layered terno. the grand prize winner was cary santiago whose eagle-inspired terno was made of a gazillion jusi feathers so painstakingly created. think mulawin and you'll get what i mean.

the competition really showcased the talent of the filipino designers and i am sure the winners will be able to represent this in the international competition of young fashion designers in france. cheers to the filipino talent!