SMART Xmas Party 2008

It was the company Christmas party last Friday and I completely, completely enjoyed it. It was my first time to actually experience the party, since last year I was part of the program and therefore missed much of the program.

But this year, the party was different and I really loved it. The venue was still at the World Trade Center. We didn't get to book all three halls, and that's why security was so tight because confidential information was divulged that night. We were required to tap our ID prior to entering the hall, and we were also required to wear this pin or otherwise we would be escorted out of the venue. Yeah, it was that strict. I found out later in the evening why.

The program was divided into two parts. For the first part, a portion of the venue was set up in a theater style. A program was held with Aiai de las Alas and a fellow employee entertaining the crowd. The serious part of the program was the report of president & CEO Polly Nazareno on how we did this year. It really is a trying year, I must say. But still, we’re thankful that we’re doing well.

Afterwards, we were invited to "experience the future." The middle part of the stage parted and revealed a tunnel that led to the other side. Employees were ushered to the tunnel to the back part of the venue.

When we entered the "second venue," I only had one word - WOW! It was my first time to attend a somewhat of a national sales convention so I was really floored by the venue setup. Several gigantic videowalls surrounded the venue and coupled with the play of lights and the futuristic music, it really gave the feeling of being in the future.

What followed next were speeches from the rest of the ManCom. One of the major highlights of the night though was the announcement of a new product/service to be launched next year. I wish I can tell you about it because it IS fantastic and it will really take the mobile experience to the next level. That’s all I can say and I really can't wait to get a new phone for that new product. Haha!

Another much anticipated moment was the speech of our chairman MVP. Watch the video and you’ll find out why. Sorry, but I had to cut it. Haha! After the "announcement," I thought it was over but it turns out that it was just going to be the start of the party as some of today’s hottest celebrities came onstage much to the delight of SMARTees.

First up was Billy Crawford who did a la Justin Timberlake. After him, the crowd went wild when Sam Milby was called. And if that wasn't enough, Sam Milby called Angel Locsin. But what really, really made the people go crazy was when Angel called Piolo Pascual. Listen to a colleague screaming in one of the videos. Hahaaha! Other performers that night were Toni Gonzaga, Rufa Mae Quinto and Christine Reyes.

Other special guests were some boxers and Talk 'N Text team. Wooohooo!

It's going to be one happy Christmas.

Christmas with my other "family..."

Last night was the Christmas party of our team. We had it at the roofdeck of one of the nearby condos here in Salcedo Village. Despite the tons of stuff that still needed to be done before the holiday break, we just had to take a couple of hours away from the office to party. Haha!

One good party, I must say. Tons of games. Lots of food. There was singing. There was laughter. There was dancing. It seemed like all the ingredients needed to have one fun and unforgettable party were there. Hehe!

Happy holidays to everyone from the PA family! Hohoho!

Night with the boys of Bloomfields

One of the perks of working for where I'm working right now is we get to meet interesting people every so often. Once in a while, we even get so lucky that they perform for us. Haha!

Last week was the fundraising event of UP alumni in the company and there was some kind of a mini-concert held at the 33/F rooms. Colleagues Tish and Cris got The Bloomfields to perform for the night. Since it was a weekday and there were other events on the same evening, not too many didn't get to stay to party with the Bloomfields boys.

But that's fine. Because it felt like we were having a private performance. Haha! And because Smartees are Smartees, we didn't want the Bloomfields guys to think that we're too "corporate" to party. Haha! So for about two hours, the crowd just jammed with the boys. Seriously, no water or washroom break for them. No wonder they were so exhausted by the time they sang their last song "La Bamba," while the crowd asked for more. Hehehe!

It was a nice party especially for a work night. Haha!

Carlo said, 'It's because we're neither...'

Hung out with Carlo last Friday. We were supposed to watch The Day the Earth Stood Still, but ended up watching an indie film. Hehe! The thing with Carlo, me and indie films is that we would always have a love it/hate it discussion at the end of the film. I can't count the times that Carlo wanted to kill me because I dragged him to some indie film, so when he told me that he did like the film we watched to a certain degree, I was pleasantly surprised. Hehe!

Carlo is one of the people I rarely see, but he's also one of the very few I will entrust my life with and open up to. (Haha! Yuck, drama!) We've seen each other through quite a lot and that's one big reason why I love the guy so much. (Hahaha! Yuck, more drama!)

What I enjoy the most about getting together with this guy is that we never seem to run out of things to talk about - from the most trivial to topics of great significance. Hehe! Rarely do I have this kind of conversation dynamics with a person, so I'm really happy every time I get to hang out with Carlo Pogi.

Last Friday, after the movie and while we were walking along Julia Vargas (I think) looking for a cab for me, our talk went into relationships. I was telling him how I noticed that my thoughts on relationships seem to have changed in the last few years. Then there's the question on being single. Hahaha! At the risk of sounding like Carrie Bradshaw, I asked Carlo to share his thoughts on his and my current status in Friendster, Facebook, Multiply and all the other social networking sites. Hahaha!

And this is what he said (or something like this). "Hmm, I think it's because in the social environment we are in, we're neither "<*****>" nor "<*****>." That makes it difficult for "people" to read us." I reply, "So, it's our fault, yeah?" To which he said, "Yeah, to a certain extent."

Hmmm, we could have talked further about the thoughts he shared, which I found quite interesting, but then a good cab arrived and we had to part ways already after a big hug. Hahaha!

Starry, starry night with CS Manila People...

Went to the Couchsurfers Manila holiday party hosted by CS Phils Country Ambassador Lil and her sisters Girlie and Candie. "Fun" does not even begin to describe how the party went. It was fantastic. It was crazy. It was a party to be remembered. Hahaha!

There were probably close to 100 people who partied that night. It was great meeting new people and it was equally great to party with the CS people who've become friends.

Before heading over to Lil's place, met up first with the usual suspects at Trinoma for dinner. From Trinoma, we were off to the really nice house somewhere in QC.

I stayed at the party til 230AM. Had to get a couple of hours' sleep because there was a nice Sunday lunch to be attended. Hehe!

Good weekend indeed.

I have to say that getting into CS is one of the highlights of 2008. In such a short span of time, I've met a lot of people from all walks of life and it's been really great exchanging stories with everyone. And then, of course there's the CS experience in Kuala Lumpur which was completely unforgettable because I got to meet local couchsurfers. Woohoo!

Couchsurfing rocks!

Crazy over NUM...

Going gaga over NUM stuff at the Wheelock store

The rainbow bears waiting to be adopted

With NUM ambassadors Imran, Kee Wei and Issey

Me love NUM shirts

One of the things I loved about SG is the New Urban Male store. I'm not sure how I found out about it, if it was through Edsel or if I came across it while doing my research for my Singapore trip.

Anyway, the trip to the store was one of the highlights of the shopping part of the trip. Haha! Even if you don't know about the store, it's impossible not to go inside and check out their stuff. The window display and how things are arranged --- organized clutter --- will catch the attention of any "visual" person. Hehe!

Uhm, I got to visit four branches while I was in SG, but the NUM shopping took place on the final day of my visit. There are several items for boys and girls - shirts, bags, flipflops, shorts, accessories, and so on, but I guess my favorites are the NUM shirts and the rainbow teddy bears. The bears above are from the store in Wheelock. I went to the stores in Heeren and Novena Square, but it's not available. Cute bears, huh? They have this "adopt-me-please" look. Hahaha!

As for the shirts, I was only planning on buying one but I ended up getting "a couple." Hehehe! The one above is going to get me into trouble with my Mom (haha!), while the other two will, uhm, I'm not sure. But NUM's statement shirts are really nice. I like that it's unapologetic and somewhat irreverent. Haha!

And then, the sales guys are also part of the "store concept." (Sorry, I don't mean to make it sound as if they are products.) They're called ambassadors, and when you visit the different NUM stores, you'll see that there's something common among them. Anyway, the guys who were at the Wheelock store at that time were Kee Wei, Imran and Issey. Uhm, they're really nice and helpful (because they're sales people?).

I wish there was a NUM store in Manila, and I asked if they are planning to bring it here (no franchiser yet), but then thinking about it now, that would be one reason less to go to Singapore again, which I don't want because I heart SG super. Haha!

Check out the NUM site --- www.newurbanmale.com and their blog --- http://235guys.blogspot.com/.

And if you're shameless (or daring???) like Edsel and me, you can sing praises about NUM and if you're lucky, you just might find your photo on their site. Hehehe!

Discovering Anawangin over the weekend...

I was able to finally go to Anawangin thanks to Dawnie who organized a CS trip to the mystical beach. Woohoo! Thanks Dawnie.

Coming from a colleague's birthday dinner and without any sleep at all, I was at the Victory Liner terminal in Caloocan at exactly 3AM to meet the 9 other people who were looking for a weekend adventure. Haha! We took the 515 bus to Iba, Zambales. After almost four hours on the road, we got off at the town of San Antonio in Zambales. We then took a tricycle to Pundaquit to meet our boatman, Mang Jimmy.

We tried to go to Capones Island to visit the lighthouse, but we were unable to do so because of the strong waves near the shoreline. That's the thing about this area. The waves are a bit unpredictable and you just have to put your faith in the boatman that he will get you safely to shore.

After almost thirty or forty minutes on the banca, we finally saw the shoreline of Anawangin. Woooohooo! It was gorgeous. Couldn't wait to get out of the banca. When we got there, several campers had already pitched tents. The good thing though is that we were able to reserve a place near the beach, thanks to Dawnie's contact.

Before you even get out of the banca, you are already treated to a fantastic, fantastic panorama. It is a visual delight to the urban person whose daily view are towering skyscrapers and a polluted skyline. Hahaha! Anawangin gives two fantastic sceneries - that of Baguio because of all the pine trees and the cool air and that of a pristine beach yet to be discovered. It was fantastic!!! I thought I've seen the country, but seriously, it still holds several more surprises.

The whole trip was memorable because it was my first time to go camping ever. (I don't think you can count a Boy Scout camping in 2nd grade as the real thing.) It was my first time to pitch a tent. It was my first time to sleep in a tent.

In the afternoon, we went swimming. We were all very careful though because the terrain of the beach is quite tricky. There have been a couple of drowning incidents already. It's the first time I've seen cross currents. One strong wave comes in, and then another one hits you from the side. And the wave pulls you back to the ocean, so utmost safety is needed. But that didn't mean we didn't have a good time at the beach.

We did, and it was really fun especially in the evening where some of the gang did some night swimming, while others just sat on the beach with several bottles of beer, exchanging stories under the light of the moon and the stars. Oh man, I can't remember the last time I've seen that many stars in the sky.

The following day, we headed back to Manila by lunch time. We were all a bit tired from the trip but that didn't stop us from still heading to a nearby Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf to have coffee and dessert before parting ways.

Thank you to the CS gang and new friends Lex, Mommy Yen, Yeng and Mau for the fun weekend!

Dreaming of Comme des Garcons for Xmas...

This is what happens when you go blog hopping. You find out about things you wished you didn't know. Hahaha! Let's clear something first though.

I knew about the H&M Comme Des Garcons collaboration. I knew that people in Tokyo lined up for hours and hours for the store opening. I knew that as soon as the store doors opened, the pieces came flying off the shelves. And I knew that every Rei Kawakubo piece for H&M would be sold out in record time.

What I didn't know, and what I wish I didn't find out is that there is a Filipino in some other part of the world who is accepting orders for pieces from the H&M CDG collection, because apparently, there are still some pieces available in that part of the world. And she is bringing these goodies to Manila on Dec. 23.

I found about this thanks to a friend who was going to order some pieces. Hehehe! Lucky, friend. I'm super envious. Haha!

The three pieces that I liked are the dress shirts above. They're very clean and constructed. And I like it that I can wear it to work or to a club. I can already picture in my head how to wear the pieces.

What I don't like is that all three pieces are going to cost me close to P20,000! Hahaha! I'm willing to forego the white shirt, but the remaining two would still cost me aboutP11,000. Sigh.

Ivan said about the pieces he wanted, "Sana when you dream of something, you get it in a snap! Hay..."

I'd say the same thing, but I'd like to add that I wish you could also get it without having to go hungry for weeks. Hahaha!

If Santa does exist, can I have these for Xmas please? I've been a very good boy, anyway. Please, please.