Ambushed On The Last Day...

Today was officially my last day at the office.

While I did mention that I am on leave already for this whole week, a good friend asked me to cover an important event and I was more than willing to do it. I was at the office early. Came in really casual clothes - jeans, shirt, sneakers. Something I've never done. Did some work on my old PC. Deleted old emails. Added some "to-do" items for my replacement. And then headed to Times Plaza for the event coverage.

When I got there, some colleagues asked me whether the news is true, and I just asked them to keep quiet about it first. What was supposed to be an hour's coverage turned out to be much longer, because I was ambushed by another event which happened simultaneously with the only event I was supposed to cover.

I got back to my old office by 3PM, and I was greeted by a pleasant surprise because some friends from that office gave me a despedida merienda. It was really sweet! I gave them photo collages as souvenirs afterwards.

In a few minutes, I need to run off for another get-together. That's going to be another post.

The 4 Should Have Been a 7...

One thing I decided to do because of my new job is to take care of official and valid identification cards. Since my passport is expired and my graduate school ID is invalid, I found it hard to get past security because of my IDs. So while on this short break, I went and got my Social Security ID and this morning, I applied for a TIN ID.

The latter turned out to be a really good idea. Never mind that from the BIR Quezon City branch, I was asked to go to the Pier branch because that's where my record is. Never mind that seeing the BIR office in Pier reminded me that I'm in a Third World.

The best thing that came out of the TIN ID application is that I found out that what I thought to be my TIN ID number wasn't really my correct TIN ID number. The last digit should be 7, and all this time I have been filling out forms with 4. Augh!!!

I wasn't too worried about it, because I'm sure this is one mistake that may be corrected.

The Spa is "The" Spa..

Went to the body care center of a gym. Thanks to a gift certificate from my friend, Cathy, I got a body scrub and a body massage. Scrub and massage were good. Overall service was bad. Nothing could bemore irritating than your own masseuse trying to sell you more gift certificates the minute you put your clothes back on. Augh! It was so annoying.

This is the reason why I the only spa I love is The Spa. I've only tried the Bel-Air and Greenbelt branches but both have the same great service and experience. I recently checked out their website, and you can already book your appointment online. Cool!

The Spa is really the spa!

It's Been Out for Some Weeks Now...

But do check out the new issue of ICON.

There might be an interesting read like the books section or the cover story or a commentary perhaps.

Bringing Home My Stuff...

All my bags are packed.

I'm ready to go. So I spent the whole Saturday afternoon just putting my stuff in boxes. I didn't think I would have amassed this much. Books, magazines, newspaper clippings, souvenirs, gifts, personal items. (Also, check out the Angelo and non-Angelo look of my desk. Haha!)

At least, I would have a week to sort through all these junk. Find out which ones go to the box, and which ones would go to the new office.

Lazy Sunday...

This Sunday is probably one of the least stressful Sundays of my life as a yuppie. And it's basically because of the fact that I don't have to get up early tomorrow, and neither do I have to go to work. Hehe!

So today, I just stayed home and tried to fix some stuff. Left the house around 3PM for Mass. Went around Greenbelt. Bought some DVDs. Bummed out that there's no more The Company's Anthology. Had cheap dinner. And walked around.

I better enjoy this Sunday to the fullest, because I'm quite sure it would take awhile again before I get to have something this relaxing now that I'm about to start a new job.

Hope your Sunday's good too.

Thinking of...

I'm thinking of painting my room. I've never been motivated to really do a Thom Filicia on my room because I'm always out of the house, and I really just use the room as a storage room for all my clutter (Augh! I'm such a pack rat!) and for sleeping.

But with Mariano Ching, Geraldine Javier, Jonathan Olazo, Buddy Cabrera, Nana Anita, and maybe, just maybe, Claude Tayag, on their way to my room, I want to make the room extra special for them. Hehe! (More about these people soon.)

Another trigger is this just may be a good year for me, and if it does turn out to be a good one, I just may be inspired to do a Thom Filicia on my small room. Hehe!

Work is Work is Work...

The last day of work turned out to be still jampacked with activities, which I sort of found out just this morning as well.

Morning, I had to attend a press conference for the culinary school. In the afternoon, there was a recognition of officers who recently passed a licensure exam. After that, I had to go take photos of one of the offices. Yesterday, I went with one of the business units to a school orientation. There were this one particular who was really cute, my friend and I got to take some photos of him. Haha!

Anyway, some colleagues already know about my leaving, but it was also good that there were these events to cover so the focus was on the events. In the afternoon, I broke the news to some friends from one department and they thought I was joking. I tried to tell the news another group of friends from another department, but one of them was having a crisis at the same time so I didn't really get to break the news.

Oh well, so much for saying farewell.

Last Two Days...

One day more before I say adios to my present company. (Well, technically, I still have a week more to go but I decided to take a week's vacation before another rollercoaster ride begins.)

Having a mix of emotions at the moment, but I still can't pay attention to these emotions because of the remaining things to be done.

Speaking of things to be done, there was another last minute work request just a couple of minutes ago. I'm supposed to be on field this morning till early afternoon, but I had to take care of that something. I'm beginning to wonder if something's wrong with my DNA.

Going the extra mile is always ten miles more. Hehehe!

Even Executives are Human...

This afternoon, I met with one of the top executives of the company.

Although I'm not directly under his supervision, I requested to meet with this boss because he was certainly an inspiration for the past 15 months. An inspiration, in the sense that, this is what bosses are supposed to be made of.

The talk lasted for about an hour, and I'm really grateful I got to talk to the guy before I leave.

Feeling Artsy...

Went to the Art in the Park this morning. Met with Grace at Paseo Center, and from there we walked to the nearby Salcedo Park.

My heart beat faster as I saw all these booths with paintings hung on the walls. As soon as we got there, Grace and I just walked around and took our time to check out the works on display. I found quite a number of interesting pieces - Garibay, Ching. We even found an Anita Magsaysay-Ho sketch for P20,000, but I'm not sure if it's a print or what. Found some Claude Tayag prints for P5,000. And then, there were some prints that sold for a P1,000. There were some Wire Tuazons, a Kiko and Fernan Escora.

But I ended up just buying an Art in the Park tote bag, as a souvenir. I did like some works, but not to the point that I would feel bad if I didn't bring them home with me.

What was great though was seeing a great mix of art lovers and collectors - from art students to parents to gay men (I'm quite sure they're gay) to artists.

I wish there'd be another one of these soon.

She's Flying Again...

Watched Zsazsa Zaturnnah with Carlo. It's my second time to watch ze muzikal but I still laughed out loud during several scenes. The new Didi is still super funny. K Brosas did well as Zsazsa. Lauren Novero has become so much more confident and better. But I enjoyed watching at CCP's Huseng Batute because it was much smaller, and therefore, I was literally closer to all the action.

Anyway, it's still a great watch. Catch Zsazsa Zaturnnah at the RCBC Theater. She's going to kick ass until July. Call 891-9999 for tickets.

Might Be Absent...

Might not be able to post in the next few days, although there are some upcoming "post-worthy" events. There's the Zsazsa musical and the Art in the Park. That should be interesting.

Be good y'all.

Anniyohaseyo!

Over the weekend, I was going through some photos from the not too distant past.

I stumbled upon the photos from my trip to Korea. Long before local Philippine television was invaded by Koreanovelas (dubbed in Tagalog), I was lucky enough to get to visit the land of kimchi and bulgogi.

What made that trip extra special was the fact that Korea was the first foreign country I ever got to visit, and that my week's stay was spent with Korean friends. These friends are from Kyungpook National University in Daegu who visited Manila for a week for volunteer activities. During their stay, I was one of those who helped them out in their volunteer activities. We went to Nagcarlan, Laguna where they stayed with nursing students of UP in a rural community. Then we also went to Sto. Tomas, Batangas where they immersed with the medicine students of UP doing their community work.

Above are some photos from the trip. There are tons more but I'd have to scan them. At that time, digital cameras were just as new as mobile phones so I had to rely on good, old fashioned 35mm cameras. Hehe!

Anniyohaseyo!

Art Sale Alert...

This Saturday, there will be an art fair at the Salcedo Park.

Dubbed "Art in the Park," paintings, prints, photographs and other works of Pinoy contemporary artists will be up for grabs. Works will be sold for P20,000 and below.

Hmm, I'll probably go just to check out what's on sale. I just wish I wouldn't find anything that I'd fall in love with. I don't want to go home crying (for not being able to get the artwork). Hehe!

In case I haven't mentioned, I started art collecting early this year. (The biggest motivation for doing so is an unexpected meeting with a fantastic artist. And my Dad who is a painter himself.) So far, my collection has Geraldine Javier, Mariano Ching, Jonathan Olazo, and Buddy Cabrera. There's also an Anita Magsaysay-Ho reproduction, but it is much prized because Mrs. Ho signed it.

Anyway.

Art in the Park

Saturday. June 16. 7AM-4PM. Salcedo Park.

Support the project because it's for the benefit of the National Museum.

Click here to read more.

4,000 Emails in a Year...

I don't know if I've mentioned this before, but one of the things I hate about my body clock is that I still get up early even on weekends. Today, for example, I was up by 5:30AM.

I programmed myself to sort through my work emails today so I can get my clearance signed from the IT department, but I didn't expect I'd be at the office by 7:30AM.

But now, I am grateful that I went to work that early. Why?

Going through 4,000 emails - sorting which to delete, which to keep, which to forward to my personal email address - is one task that requires a lot of patience. The commendations I got for the weekly English tips I kept, the emails I got from our dear President I kept, emails that made me question some stuff I moved to trash.

This was the only task I got to do today, but I'm happy I'm done with it.

So This Is The Short Story...

Alright, so here's a gist of what has recently happened.

Friday morning last week, I got "the" call I was waiting for. On the afternoon of the same day, I printed my 30-day notice and handed it over to the unit head, who readily accepted it.

Monday was the start of a week of processing documents and other requirements. First off, I had my medical and physical exam, which took three days. I know, it's hard to believe. But this has to be the strictest medical exam I've had. I needed to have two molars fixed. I needed to have my ears fixed. Even the few warts that have been silently there around my neck area got the doctor's attention. Ergo, I was asked to have them removed.

At the same time, I was gathering other documents such as NBI (think FBI) clearance, social security number, birth certificates, university transcripts, tax payment records, to name a few.

This morning, I turned in everything to my new employer by the start of July.

Though this whole pre-employment process was so tedious and required a lot of legwork, there are only two words that would best describe the rollercoaster ride I'm about to get myself in.

Simply amazing.

Si Tu No Estas...

Here is my breakup song with a very special lady. Hehehe!

ROSANA lyrics

We had our "talk" this afternoon. She said she was disappointed, but in a positive way. She knew she was setting me free because it would be better for me. Our "talk" ended with a wonderful hug and me on the brink of tears.

By the way, I haven't been posting because the past few days have just been crazy.

Will write about it soon.

Must Be Fate...

Hmm, the past few days have been days of confusion.

It started last Wednesday when I had a talk with a "mentor." The following day, I had more talks with potential "mentors."

Yesterday, I started to see some rays of light. And I couldn't be happier.

Must be the prayers. Must be fate. Must be the feng shui altar my Mom set up in my room.

Whichever it is, prayer of thanks to the heavens is in order.

Can't talk about these in detail yet. Apologies.

Loving This Song Now...

Every once in awhile, I fall in love with a Tagalog song. And usually, these are the really melodramatic ones. Hahaha!

When I visited Noreen, this really sentimental song was playing. I liked it because it was good music and because the words were just so cheesy.

I've always been a fan of the Tagalog dialect. We're talking about the really old and deep Tagalog here though. I think the words are just really deep and so full of meaning.

Anyway, the song's title is "Hiling," which is Tagalog for "request." The song is basically about someone requesting his or her lover to smile and to stay (in the relationship, I suppose).

Here's the song:

May bakas ng luha ang iyong mga mata
And tamis ng iyong halik ay lumipas na
Dahil ngayon nagbago na ang lahat
Nang di sinasadya, masaktan ka giliw ko

Ngumiti ka naman, wag ka nang lumisan
Nang mapawi na ang lahat ng sakit na nararamdaman
Ngumiti ka naman, wag ka nang lumisan
At kapiling ko ang lungkot sa akin pag-iisa
Kung wala ka na

May naiwan pa bang liwanag sa yong pagsinta
Nang sa kadiliman ako umasa pa
Marahil ngayon sasapit na ang bagyo
Bubuhos na ang ulan
Kung wala ka giliw ko

Sana ngayon dinggin ang aking hiling
At sisimulan ang ngiti

And He's Off to Sea...

Last night, I received a text from my friend Gandil that he's leaving today and will start his 8 or 10 month life at sea.

Here at my workplace, cadets waiting for their onboard assignment are assigned to different departments to help out. (Think student assistants in the university.)

The cadets are rotated weekly in the different departments. I'd like to think that cadets who get assigned to our department learn more during their week's stay with us.

It must be the teacher in me. I always make sure that the cadets don't just do clerical work or act as gofers (gofer this or gofer that) when they get assigned to us. They learn a bit of Photoshop, a bit of MS office, a bit of photography and video coverage. (Friends from other departments tease me that the cadets get in touch with their creative arts and crafts side when they get assigned to our department.)

So by the time the cadets have moved on to a different department, I'd like to think they have learned something new and more importantly, they've become friends.

It's actually nice because whenever we get to see each other in the hallway or on the road, we'd greet each other warmly and ask how things are doing.

When they get their onboard assignments, those I've become really good friends with proudly tell me and just like Gandil, even say goodbye. On my part, I couldn't be happier for them.

I don't remember how many cadets have already been assigned to us, but there are those like Gandil who I remember because of their attitude towards learning and their general disposition. They are the ones who I'm quite sure would rise to become officers.

Good luck, Gandil, and see you after a year.