we are the champions

i am still overwhelmed after winning the hp cup 2013 overall champion. it's been almost 5 years since our first one.

i was always involved with the hp cup being a member of the bowling team since it started. that was 7 years ago. and since i've always been a fan of sports, i've been going to the volleyball and basketball games every year to cheer on our team.

this year, i think i got more involved than usual.

opening day, the mob and dance showdown: i have never attended the opening day of the hp cup except for this year. i'm proud to say that all the sds managers were there to support and represent sap practice. our new hires were also there to participate. good thing, too, since there were just a handful of us that day. i also had to be stand-in as manager representative since the other managers were not there yet. truthfully, i was not prepared to be at the front and center of the celebrations. in any case, i was still happy to have represented my team. i even joined the games! i had to compete with the boys in the eating contest (we placed second!) and we were the only team with women representatives in the tug-of-war (and our team was competing against big, burly guys). of course we lost the tug-of-war. i was just happy enough of us were there to represent the team. hahaha! as for the dance showdown, i was nervous for the team. but after seeing all the teams, i knew we had a fighting chance. it was a good thing the judges had the same idea. we placed 3rd.

volleyball: i did not want to join the volleyball team this year. the reason: i wanted them to have a fighting chance this time. yes, i know where i stand with regards to my volleyball skills. i am no way near varsity level. also, some of the women players were back from maternity leave so they should be fine. free still put my name in the roster so i was officially a team member. i tried to attend all the games that i could, just to make sure we had enough girls and not lose by default. unfortunately, we did not fare so well. we lost our last qualifying game so we only placed 6th.

men's basketball: i am a perennial basketball watcher from the very beginning, same as in volleyball. there were times in the last 7 years that i was the only one who watched the boys. there were also times when i cheered alongside the players' girlfriends. i was so happy for them when they went into the semi-finals undefeated and when they won a place in the finals. when they won the championships, i was soooo happy for them. some of them waited and fought for this for 5, 6, 7 years. to finally get it this time is a validation for them and i was so thrilled that i was there to witness it.

tennis: now, i am a self-proclaimed tennis fan. you could see my fb posts and tweets when i watch professional tennis on tv. however, i never played a game of tennis in my life (at least nothing that you can legitimately call tennis) so i had no idea why i was part of the team. i wanted to provide my full support for the team since it was only a one day event. however, i had a previous appointment for the day so i was just being updated by pia via sms. they coursed through the men's doubles matches but were on a twice-to-beat disadvantage for the mixed doubles. lo and behold they got first place in both categories!

bowling: bowling is my sport. ever since the hp cup began, i was involved with the women's bowling team and that has been the case for the last 7 years. for the first three years, we were back-to-back-to-back champions. then there was one year that there was no hp cup and after that we finished two consecutive years as first runner up. i really wanted us to get back the championship this year. we were not very confident because our star player was no longer part of the team. we were also coming into the finals as second seed against the green team. i guess my prayers were answered because jusel stepped up to the plate and delivered high scores in each of the games and we were finally on top again! the boys delivered their own and placed third. because we were the only team where both teams finished in the top 3, we were awarded as bowling champions.

manager's cup: i was so relieved that i couldn't perform in the manager's cup (we can only be involved in 2 sports). i tried to help out as much as i can and attended almost all their practices to show my support. i have to take my hat off to mylene, christa, aj, dune, glenn and christian because they really put a lot into this. although they started late vs. the other teams, they were able to execute a very complicated routine, together with a lot of lifts. i was also so thankful to sol for providing her expertise in sewing, even if it was all last minute. and rich and bev came to save the day, providing professional hair, makeup and accessories. i was at the sides when they presented since i had to prepare mylene's finale skirt but i was shouting my lungs off. they were amazing!!!! i was actually surprised we only placed third because in my mind, we were fighting for first.

there were other sports that i was not able to get involved in but all of the results combined to give us the overall championship.

i am so so proud of everyone who got involved in the hp cup and led us to victory.

GO WHITE GIANTS! GO SAP PRACTICE!!!!

trying my hand on baking

this is in no way near professional but my niece, sofia, asked for a pink cake for her birthday and here is my best effort. :)

q-pd-s

today was supposed to be a fun night but it didn't turn out that way. it's sad.

on another note, i'd like to thank all my friends who showed their full and unwavering support these past few days:

aaron, bj, ronram, ronald, tans - my pd supporters
sol, sarah, maj - my coffee sponsors who did not just give coffee this time
eric and ryann - up to the last minute!
christa, krizzie, rolan, aren, bourbon - mga imports ko!

and most especially

aj, auds and alice - ang mga nangikil, nagmakaawa at nagpilit sa mga tao na iboto kami

salamat, salamat, salamat... ibang level ang suporta niyo, wala akong masabi. sobrang touched ako. it did not only provide a lot of entertainment (and funds) but it really showed me how i could depend on you, even in the smallest of things.

i love you all!

oh, and i loved the flowers, by the way. :)

before it ends

there's a sense of accomplishment in my life right now, now that i have actually finished my project. this is the first time that i have led a project and i could not even start to explain the feelings that i have now that it's over.

i told jon in our project management report that there have been times when i was given big responsibilities in projects and i have treated those as mini-projects that i am leading but this is the first time that i got to be accountable for everything. it's a scary thing at the start because truthfully, i didn't know what i was doing. i probably had an idea about what things to do but i was not confident at all.

it has been a long journey. nine months, to be exact. as if i was having a baby. maybe, in some weird way, this is that. and i could not even express how thankful i am to the people who have helped us along the way.

my team is probably the best team i could hope for --- melai, raffy, andrew, jade, mavie, katt, melvin, neill, jeff p. they were always there to support the project, extending hours just to be able to deliver. and they are my real babies. i have seen how they started, how they struggled and how they shined in their own ways. and i am so proud that they have accomplished so much!

my support team has been amazing --- mylene, jaime, taylor, ewa, guoliang, sanjay, chuck, jusel, perci, natz, allan, janice, minette. i know my life as a project manager would have been so much more difficult without their help. they let me discover and do things my own way but always being there to support me when i need them.

i am, in a way, saddened that this must come to an end because now it's going to be a new team all over again while this project is now familiar to me. but really, it's mostly happiness and pride that i feel right now. let me bask in it some more before it finally ends.

gruelling

after weeks of studying, basically having no life and being a loser, i went to take my certification exam. nakakatakot kasi feeling ko ang dami kong hindi alam. but there was no other option but to go through the exam. nag-send pa ako sa team ko ng invite na ipagdasal kami ng 10 am. isip ko kasi, baka madaan sa dasal, kung hindi sa napag-aralan namin. i even told my mom to start praying at 10 am and not to stop until i text her i passed.

while waiting for the exam to start, nagsimulang magtanungan yung mga kasama ko. and i was thinking, "oh God, i am so dead". i started reading again, hoping that whatever else i read in those few minutes would help me pass.

the exam was soooo hard! nakakaloka siya! may mga questions na iniisip ko, "wala naman ito sa binasa ko e!". may mga questions naman na medyo alam ko yung sagot pero di ako sure. and thankfully, meron naman ding mga alam ko talaga.

one by one, the other examinees were finishing their own exams. ang usapan, bawal mag-react, kahit ano ang maging resulta. when mark, my teammate (and seatmate then), announced that he was ready to submit his exam, sabi ko, "pwede sumilip?" ok naman daw sa kanya basta mauna siya tumingin sa results. when i peeked, nakita ko na pumasa siya. then i thought, "oh God! anong gagawin ko kung bumagsak ako?" di ko kasi talaga alam kung paano ko sasabihin sa team at sa manager ko na di ako pumasa. by the end of two hours, i was so tired, wala na akong maiilabas sa utak ko. nag-check lang ako na wala akong na-miss na questions at nagdasal. sabi ko, "Lord, ikaw na ang bahala dito. wala na akong magagawa". then i mustered enough courage to click the End Exam button. i was expecting to see the results immediately when another message box popped asking, "Are you sure you want to end the exam?". kulang na lang magmura ako ng "p***! sabi ng end exam e!". pero syempre, nag-isip pa talaga ako kung tatapusin ko na ba. kaya lang kasi, wala na rin talaga akong mailalabas pa kaya go na.

Congratulations! You passed the exam.

yahoooo!!! gusto kong tumalon sa tuwa pero dahil napagkasunduan na walang magre-react, tumayo lang ako at lumabas. paglabas ko, tanong sila mark sa akin kung kamusta. dun lang ako nag-react. pero more than happiness, i was relieved. relieved that i passed and relieved that it's all over.

dun na ako nagsimulang mag-text at tumawag sa mga tao... kay mommy, aj, auds, mylene. nag-text din sina raffy at ryan. ang question lang ni ryan was, ":-) or :-(" sagot ako ng ":-) and :-)" for me and mark. ang response ni ryan, wagi! and it's the truth. wagi talaga.