Sombrero holiday party...

This is a long overdue post.

We had a simple but really meaningful and super fun Christmas party to end the year and to celebrate the holidays as well.

The party organizers decided to do a hat party. Everyone in the team received a plain buri hat, which we were supposed to decorate. Best hat gets a prize. Because we were so busy trying to finish everything before offices and people go on holiday mode, I wasn't sure whether people would have the time to really work on their hats. Some colleagues and I got to work on our hats only during the night before the party.

Man, was I wrong? (And definitely happy about it! Haha!) Once our party started, each one brought out their decorated hats. Definitely impressive and pleasantly surprising! This is one of the nice things about being in the team where I am. Each one has been blessed with a great amount of creativity and skill in the art/aesthetic department. Hehehe! And even during last minute situations, we still manage to find a way to make whatever it is we're working much more creative/better.

It was difficult to judge which hat was the best. In the end, colleague Deivid's was declared winner. He did a Filipiniana theme. Sequins and glitters to form the Philippine flag on the hat. Galing!!!

The other highlights of the party were the rewards & recognition portion and the exchange gift. For the R&R, I'm happy to have received a number of Starbucks GCs and other goodies. The exchange gift, on the other hand, was a bit different than the usual. Let's just say that friendships were put to a test because of a Powerbooks GC. Hahaha!

The year has really been something and the people I work with definitely played a major role in making sure that we all get through the year in one piece. Haha! I'm really glad to be part of the team, and I'm definitely looking forward to having a bright 2010 with these guys.

Christmas goodies after Christmas day...

I bought myself gifts just yesterday. A day after Christmas. That's the time when I also opened presents from people at work.

Since I did a last minute shopping this year, I didn't bother to get gifts for myself until I'm done with buying presents for everyone. For the people at the office, I got them shoe bags made from recycled tarpaulin. The wonderful bags were made by the mothers of the Gawad Kalinga Village in Sooc, Iloilo. The quality of the bags have really improved, I have to say. By the way, I still have some pencil cases, in case you want one.

For my cousins and relatives, I went the tamagotchi way of shopping. I stumbled upon these nice beauty gift packs from Landmark and after seeing that the price wasn't so bad, I already got all the Titas and the female cousins the same gifts. For the boys, I headed to Bench, which was always reliable for cute but affordable gifts. What was difficult was getting presents for the kids. I couldn't give the same stuff, right? So that's where most of the shopping time went. Getting gifts for Arianne, Hannah, Kim, KC, and my grandson/godchild Joaquin. Eeep, I still have to get gifts for my other godchildren! I was really proud of my shopping time though. I was at the mall at 10AM and I was done in about an hour. Thankfully, my youngest brother Andre went with me and helped carry the shopping bags. Hehehe!

Yesterday, I headed to Greenbelt to buy my "just because" present. I call it "just because" since these are purchases that would seem to be illogical and unwise, but I just gotta have them just because... Hehe!

The day started with a pedicure at Bruno's. I can't remember the last time I went to a barber shop. I was supposed to go to Tips n' Toes but it was fully booked so I just decided to go to Bruno's next door. It turned out to be a good decision because the price at Tips n' Toes for the service was already the price for the service and my tip at Bruno's. Hehe!

From Greenbelt, I headed to Glorietta. I just walked around checking stores to look for something that would catch my eye. I wanted to get a new shirt or two, but I just couldn't bring myself to buy the shirts at full price when I know that they will slash the prices very soon. Hehe! Instead, I bought these cool placemats from Dimensione. I love that store. They have the coolest stuff! That's where Bruce and Johnny came. And this time, I found these nice placemats. Priced at just P88-100 for a set of four placemats and coasters, it's super cheap. I got two. These will be for my future home. Hehehe!

From Glorietta, I went back to Greenbelt for my "just because" purchase. Haha! This year, it was these Evian bottles designed by Paul Smith. Hehe! Again, these will be for the future home. In the meantime, they'll be nice accents for my office cube. Hehe! The collection comes in five colored caps but I just got two. To get all five was too much for me already. Hehe! I was tempted to get a bag, but decided against it because it didn't look that Paul Smith anyway. Hehe! I looked at some of the shirts that were marked down already and it would be great to get one or two, but knowing that I could use the money for get a roundtrip ticket to Singapore made me not get. Haha!

To finish the day, I went to The Spa for a body massage. I rarely get massages, and I wish I could get it more often.

When I got home, I opened my presents. I got shirts, desk accents, cookies, more cookies, and my favorites were these personalized notepads and notecards and Glee Vol. 1 and 2. OSTs from my second brother and his girlfriend. I can't remember the last time I bought a CD, and I almost got the albums when I went to the mall the other day. Thankfully, I didn't get the stuff.

There's one more gift I want to get. Let's see if I will be lucky enough to get it. :)

How's yer Xmas '09...

How was your Christmas?

Mine was okay. My family spent it the way we've been spending it for the past, what, thirty years? At my Lolo's house in UP Diliman. My Dad stayed home, as usual. And we left the house late, as usual. But still was the family first to arrive in Diliman, as usual. Hehe!

Only a few things have changed. My Lolo's no longer there. Some cousins are already abroad. There are new kids (children of my cousins). I didn't even know some of them are married already. Hehehe! Evil me.

One thing that stayed the same, and I love it, is the food. Tita Baby, the youngest among the girls, would always bring really delicious dishes. Ate Lizet, the daughter of Tita Cecil, would always prepare tasty chicken. My Mom and Tita Did would bring different dishes every year. For 2009, we brought lumpiang ubod from I dunno where. But it's much better (read: healthier) than the lechon paksiw we usually bring.

Another tradition during this one day that I see my relatives is hanging out with my cousins. Unless someone is getting married or worse, someone passed away, that's the only time I get to see them. I dunno. I'm sure it'll be great to hang out with them more often but we all just live in different worlds. I'm in Makati. Some are in QC. Some are in Manila. And others are in Cavite.

Anyway, after the get-together at my Lolo's house, a bunch of my cousins and I headed to Shangri-la to catch one of the MMFF films. Since Mano Po wasn’t selling any tickets anymore, we just decided to watch I Love You Goodbye.

We were early, so we hung out at the Starbucks and just did some catching up. One thing I enjoyed about it was I get all the juicy chismis about my other relatives. Hehe! Is that bad? My cousin Ai also had the most hilarious stories about her trip to Oz where she gave a training. I guess her (mis)adventures and the really good way she told them made the whole thing extra funny.

I'm not going to waste space writing about the film. I didn't like the story. That's it. Hehe! I thought the acting was good though. Angelica, Derek, Gabby. They were good. Oh, oh, and Angel Aquino was just perfect in her role!!! She looked absolutely stunning in this black dress and a pearl necklace. (Jewelmer? Hehehe!) Of course, that I remember. As for the story? Blah! Anyway, you be the judge.

After the movie, we already called it a night. My cousin Marian is leaving for Europe tomorrow (I'm envious). Another cousin had to go home all the way to Cavite. My youngest brother had to bring his girlfriend home.

Oh, that's the other highlight of the gathering this year. My two younger brothers introduced their girlfriends to my Titos, Titas, cousins, nephews, nieces earlier.

Di na nirespeto ang single na Kuya?! LOL! Just kidding, just kidding. I'm happy for my brothers.

Humanda kayo when I introduce my someone. LOL! I think people will be doing cartwheels... or they'll probably console my Mom. LOL! But I'm pretty sure it's going to be like a San Miguel TVC.

"Ilabas na ang San Mig. Mahaba habang usapan ito..."

Merry Christmas, guys!