Odd Holidays

For 2 years, holidays are really considered as precious moments. (1) we only have 10 holidays to look forward to and (2) as said in my blog title, it's so odd that even if we have one we dont get to celebrate it with family and friends since these are not the normal Phil holidays that you guys follow.

So today is another one of these odd holidays. I never planned for anything, just to stay at home and fix my things. I printed 100 pictures stored in my CD for months so now is the time to put them in my photo album and add some 'art' as well. I decided to just tuck my self in bed, spend the day watching movies (thankful that a mall is located 1 km frommy place), answering emails and updating my blog :-)

Next month, I dont get to celebrate independence day,which is another Phil holiday but my countdown to this 'weird' sched is about to end. 2 months from now, it's a whole new world!

And to my friends...I'm so excited to spend time with you again.

The week that was

This was such an eventful week for me. I am finally saying good bye to the institution that changed me as a person -- the challenges I experienced gave me a different perspective of things, it opened new paradigms for me. Again, it wasnt easy to make this decision but I had to.

So that was how my week started -- all the crying and melodramatic moments. That also means I had to speed up work and make sure that everything will be in order before I go. So, cascade sessions left and right, meetings with key people, schedule appointments with vendors, turn-over of files and of course talking to my friends and letting them know of my decision -- I guess this was the hardest part of all.

I am also scheduling my vacation as well. I made sure to take a break before I embark on a new journey. Here are my itinerary so far:

1. Singapore with family this June
2. Bangkok with a friend this June
3. refresh my driving skills

It's a mixed feeling to be honest but things will sink in as days go by. For the mean time, I look forward to our bulalo-lunch later! yummy!!!!

Ang bakasyon!

It took me a month to plan this vacation. But it's worth the wait and I'm just so excited to share what happened.

First the flight, it was my first time to ride Asian Spirit. I got scared because of the all-time running joke that you fly as an Asian and land as a spirit. As expected, there was a delay due to the runway construction (all flights are delayed). But it didnt take us that long to wait because we were advised by their Customer Service 2 days before -- if other airlines can just do that!

We stayed at Tonglen Beach Resort, Station 3. Newly renovated so the rooms were nice, spacious, cold and it was really a resort on its own. We didnt waste our time and headed for the beach as soon as we arrived. We watched Crossover's concert and walked around the white sandy beach of Bora.

The next days were spent lying around the beach, swimming to get some tan and visiting some of these places, which I recommend:

best fruit shake - Jonah's
good music - Aria
relaxing ambience (thanks to the duyan-type chairs) - Cafe del Mar

Someday I'll be back. But hopefully with less people. More pictures if you click on 'My photos'.

Belated!

Happy Birthday to me (2x) ...that was 2 weeks ago and how fast time flies and 11 more months to go till I celebrate this big day. I really enjoy celebrating it though people tease you of being a year older, but I also believe that I'm getting wiser :-) Let me share to you what happened.

By 10am, we were on the road hitting South Super Hi-way. We had a stop-over at McDonalds to get some breakfast and StarBucks for our coffee. I barely had 4 hours of sleep so I need all the caffeine to keep me going. It was my first time to try Banana Mocha Frappucino and I like it, highly recommended if you're not on a strict diet :-)

We arrived in Tagaytay noon time and decided to go to Taal. We got a good package and didnt really bother to ask around. I guess we're just too excited to get there. We were guided to Talisay Batangas and first activity, boat ride. which was for 10 minutes only. I enjoyed the splashing of(fresh) water and was hoping a tilapia would land in my lap.

After the boat ride was the horseback riding. We were contemplating on whether to go on barefoot or ride a horse. Wasnt really sure what's up there so we just decided on the former. It wasnt really a good ride since the road is too bumpy and dusty. In fact my white towel turned brown as soon as I reached the top. Nothing fancy when you get up there (what you see in the pix is what you get). I just like to go outdoors, I'm tired of being in an airconditioned room, seeing office furniture and well-dressed people. Going back to my story, we were the only Filipinos, mostly were Chinese and Koreans. No wonder a bottle of beer and coconut juice cost $6 each. After two hours we were back in the resort, had lunch of inihaw na tilapia, pork sinigang and of course the real thing -- Coca Cola! I also stopped by the church to say thank you to my bestfriend for all these blessings.

Well, the day ended with me having dinner with my family in Podium. I was honestly tired but my special day wont be complete if I'll not spend it with the most important people in my life.

Thank you for all those who greeted me and remembered me on this day.

Commitment

I've been wondering for almost 2 years what makes people work for 12 hours, or more, in the office (oh at least I'm referring to my co-workers). I think I have the answer to that question -- commitment! Either commitment to your job, to your organization (since they pay you hopefully well) or to the people (wow, very customer service oriented). Yesterday on my way home from *Boracay, a guy met me in the bus terminal, person in-charge of my transfers. He asked me to register, gave me a sticker and also briefed me on some instructions. As I arrived in Kalibo airport....there he is again, this time placing tags around checked-in baggages. Then I saw him again when the plane arrived providing assistance (like welcoming guests) in the terminal and by the time we were asked to on-board the plane, he's the one getting the terminal fee ticket from all passengers. Now, that's what you call multi-tasking...under the scourging heat of the sun!

Seriously speaking,that is very admirable of that person. I don't know what his motivations are but that kind of commitment is something that management, of Asian Spirit, should recognize. Bow po ako sa inyo Sir and how idealistic but I hope there'll be more employees with that kind of attitude.

*there will definitely be a separate entry on this