First time in what feels like a long time

I couldn’t believe it! No entry has been posted in my blog for almost two months. Oh well, as if I have lots of followers. =P
Of course, many things had happened in those 8 weeks.

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I applied as a Communications Analyst for our program last June. I went through two interviews and I’m glad I passed. Training started last July 7 and will end on September 7. Hopefully, I will be confirmed as the Communications Analyst for Email and Chat. I am under the supervision of Allison whom I consider as a very considerate and generous mentor.

This new job proved to be much more physically demanding than I expected since I already lost a few pounds after a week. It’s like I enrolled myself to a workout program I am not aware of. Monitoring the agents’ emails or chats and conducting huddles and trainings everyday keep me up whole part of the shift.

There are times I would miss being an agent – sitting all day answering emails/chats, handling my own time, keeping my own pace (at least, that’s how it was for me). But, with all the new things I learn everyday, I just need to remind myself of how blessed I am to be doing what I’ve been wishing for. There’s no reason to be ungrateful.

People ask me if working as a Communications Analyst is hard. For me, it is, but since I enjoy what I’m doing, it makes everything much easier to bear. I’m happy that I am helping agents to do their jobs better. I’m glad that I have the opportunity to share what I know. I’m excited to learn new things that will help me be a better teacher.

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My dad celebrated his 55th birthday last August 15th. He arrived from Bicol last August 10 to spend a week here in Manila for much deserved vacation.
He had a party at my aunt’s house with most of his siblings and nephews and nieces present. I wasn’t able to come to the party because Ceasar, Josine and I had to drop by at Nini’s house to greet her a “happy birthday”. (Nini is like our adopted child.)

I did go to church with Dada, Tita Liza, JV, Josine, Ceasar and other relatives for a thanksgiving mass.

Ceasar and I celebrated our 5th anniversary (since August 17 fell on a Monday this year) by catching the last screening of the hilarious film, “The Hangover” that Saturday. We just had a little snack at the Coffee Bean. Laughing for almost two hours sure made us hungry. We grabbed a late dinner at Javi’s Sikatuna on our way home.

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L.A. visited the Philippines again after a 3-day mission in Vietnam. We had dinner at Cabalen, Trinoma branch. Too bad, I was not feeling well that day. I didn’t get to enjoy her company, but I’m glad that we spent time together. Hopefully, she will be back again in January.

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Rodney, Jefferson and I got together one Saturday. I missed those guys. We met up at Trinoma and grabbed an early dinner at Bigoli’s, my favorite Italian restaurant (good food at an affordable price). They wanted to have a few drinks so we went straight to Quattro at Timog, Q.C. We stayed there until 3 a.m. since they still have to catch up with some of their guy friends back home.

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Last Sunday, Mau, Kuya Raul and Doie were here at our place. I miss hanging out with them. It’s been a while since we last got together. I just hope we would put an end to the habit of watching our old gigs and showing them to new friends. =P

Hopefully, our plans to go to Sagada soon will push through. I really feel the need to get out of the city.

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In two months, I was able to watch 3 movies. THREE MOVIES!! That’s a personal record.
Nothing But The Truth – watch it at your own risk. You may like it or you may not.
The Hangover – SUPER FUNNY!! It’s a combination of wit and slapstick comedy, so I guess, it’s a good formula for a hilarious movie.
And I Love You So – bring packets of tissues and I mean, PACKETS! Confirmed, Bea is one of the best actresses of her generation. Sam Milby is so hot!!

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I’m so excited!
WHO: ATO Reactive Uno Animo peeps
WHAT: Uno Animo’s Anniversary and mid-year Wish List party
WHEN: September 5, 2009, Saturday, around 6.30am
Finally, this much-awaited event has a date. Yup, you read it right, guys! Around 6.30am. With our different shifts, this is the best time to get together. I’m so happy that everyone was okay with it. It shows that everyone misses everyone. Hehehe.. I can’t wait to take our pictures na yung iba ay pagod dahil sa puyat o pagod dahil kulang pa sa tulog.

Sunday Special

We ordered pizza at Jugno’s Monster Pizza last night. The pizza was good and left us all stuffed for the next two weeks. I am thankful that I have the Sun-Mon off, now that I am in the morning shift since I now get to spend time with my family over dinner and movies. I wished this schedule would be mine for good, but, of course, I know I can only wish.

Anyway, Ceasar finally bought the Globe Tattoo prepaid kit and so we can now surf the net from the comforts of our home. The connection can be slow at times but we can still watch videos and download songs with no problem. I can now check my Facebook account and update my blog at home. Guess, I no longer have an excuse to not have the pictures uploaded in my site as soon as possible, but I know my friends, especially my Uno Animo team won’t mind since they’re already used to the delay. Tamad lang talaga ako. I spent almost five hours surfing the net. At heto, hindi pa rin nagsasawa. Naaaliw talaga ako kasi hindi ko akalain na ayos din naman pala kahit prepaid.


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Ceasar and I went to the mall today to hang out and look for a new pair of jeans for him. We took Josine and Kmart with us, to spend some time with them, too.

Though there were a lot of people hanging out in the mall, I still found it relaxing to visit my favorite bookstores and window shop for stuff I want to buy in the future.

Ceasar and I got a pair of jeans and a new shirt respectively. We also bought our favorite Zen Zest scents. Josine bought another shirt for school (it’s her first day of school tomorrow) and a charm bracelet on sale.

Kmart had a blast at the many stores we visited particularly at Fully Booked and Toy Kingdom. It’s so much more difficult to have him along among the crowd as he can easily get lost in the sea of people. It took a lot of energy to run after him or keep up with him whenever he gets excited but it’s all worth it, thinking that in a few years, he may never want to spend time with his Tita. (*sniffs)

We then had an early dinner at Burger King. As usual, we felt like we couldn’t breathe after eating. (Hahaha!) We decided to hunt for more books to burn some of the calories. We also went looking for a watch. Hopefully, I will have a new one tomorrow.

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We’re halfway through the month of June and I want to send my birthday wishes to the following people:

June 8 – Auntie Medy

June 9 – Mahmu

June 10 – Albert Mallorca and Wilbur Quimba

Happy, happy birthday!! ♥♥♥

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For the past 3 days, I’ve been singing the song, “Thinking of You” by Katy Perry almost everywhere. Thanks to Tin. Because of this song, we got to share some of our feelings and it’s a relief to finally have someone understand or at least, listen to what I feel.

I am not sure if actually talking about it helped since I’ve been trying to suppress the feeling and stop entertaining any more thoughts to silly ideas. Every time I feel I’ve gotten over it, there would be times when it would hit me the way it did the first time and I would have to start all over again to gain the confidence I worked so hard for.

Talking to Tin made me feel like I should really take things slow and not force myself to simply shift from one to the other. I think I really need to be careful about myself as I may end up crazy or something.

I know I am not making sense now and I won’t force myself to do so. I think I owe to myself to take my time and be kinder to myself.

Have a great week ahead of you!!

"ho-hum" in the office

Despite all these years attempting to be a songwriter, I was only able to finish one composition, lyrics and all, with the help of my one only Bubi pachiez, Csar. To my friends, this song is soooo 2007. I just checked my old entry when I first shared it here and found that the words changed a lot when Csar put the melody to it.

I know it's kinda makulit to keep posting certain stuff with a little difference but please understand that I consider this as my first baby in music. I always admit that I am not a good composer since most of the songs I write ended up being essays. That's why this song is considered a milestone. Haha!

I want to thank Cacai, Tetay and Tin for listening to this song back when we were still on the 26th floor of EBP. I appreciate your enthusiasm and feedback then.

CAN NEVER BE MINE

A moment of laughter
A secret smile
A brush of your hand
laidback afternoon
The slightest touch
Hours to last forever
These things I shared with you can never be mine
can never be yours, can never be ours.

Hold on to this moment
and never let go
could never be, you and I both know
(you and I both know)

Tears flowing
My heart is breaking
Silence deafening
My love awaiting
desperately hoping
the pain I will endure
So just let me have you this time
since tomorrow can never be mine...
can never be yours and mine.

Hold on to this moment
and never let go
could never be, you and I both know

This memory will linger 'til
my heart stops beating for your name
Til my eyes no longer cry for this
Love that can never be ours,
That can never be yours and mine.

Hold on to this moment
and never let go
could never be, you and I both know

Instrumental

Hold on to this moment
and never let go
could never be, you and I both know
We could never have this moment
we need to let go
coz it could never be
this could never be mine
could never be yours and mine.
It could never be yours and mine,
will never be yours and mine.

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Dada (my daddy) arrived from Bicol last Friday. We will have lunch at his place today to celebrate Easter Sunday as a family since he'll be leaving for Bicol again on Monday. Too bad, Csar won't be joining us. He will be attending a fiesta in Tayuman with his supervisor and his teammates.

To everyone, Happy Easter! The hunt for the colorful eggs is on...

Speaking of egg-hunting, we have one in the office. If only I have the energy or at least, the enthusiasm to join the fun (when was I ever after the office fun!?), I wouldn't mind looking for an egg around the office to win the prizes like the Nokia phone, the GE slimline telephones and the Ayala Mall GCs, but since I don't, let's just leave it to those who do and who are lucky. =)

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Vayie, I tried one of your shared blog tricks here in this entry! Yay!

A generally good Friday

I got a call from a college friend who is now living in Singapore. She is one of the few people I became close with despite the little time I get to spend in school after classes because of my tutorial job. We lost touch when she left school without any notice. Her old number's no longer active and her Friendster account abandoned.

I'm happy to hear that she is now married to a Singaporean and is a mother to Shawn who will be turning two on July 11. She will be coming back here in the Philippines either on the last week of May or on the first week of June. She said she'll be staying here a little longer than her last visit since she wants her son to celebrate his birthday with her relatives and friends this time. That means we will have the time to catch up on things. =)

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I heard this crazy news in the office. We are no longer allowed to bring beverages inside the production floor even if we are using spill-proof mugs/tumblers. All we can drink is water.

Great! Good luck to those who need a kick of caffeine just to get through the graveyard shift. Wala na yata talagang magawa ang ibang tao sa amin. Bagot na sila sa kanilang trabaho. Pati iinumin namin, pinanghihimasukan na nila.

No pen and paper policy. It's understandable if it is for the security of the whole account, why not. Pero TISSUE PAPER?! Helloooo! Kahit tumutulo na ang sipon at parang Malabanan na kung suminghot ang mga ahente, bawal pa rin ang tissue. The administrators should really do some serious thinking, because they appear to be NOT thinking at all and they are not making any sense. If they want to make sense, the least they could is explain why we are not allowed to do this and that. After all, we are not servants who should blindly heed to the whims of our "masters".

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I saw this girl on the floor. I find her pretty with her long, flowing brown hair and slim waist like an Japanese anime character. Then I saw her by the elevator, chewing something like there's no tomorrow...

hindi pala siya ganun kaganda..=(

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Josine is back again from a 5-day vacation in Pangasinan and Baguio. I definitely missed her and her funny antics. Too bad, Kmart just left with his mom to spend what's left of the Holy Week with his "ate" and his mom's relatives. Malungkot tuloy si Josine, excited pa man din siyang umuwi kasi akala niya, may ma-bu- bully daw siya pag-uwi niya. Looks like Kmart was one step ahead of her. Ha!

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Kate (Kmart's mom) was thoughtful enough to ask me if I want to get my flu vaccine in their office. Since I was diagnosed and hospitalized for acute bronchitis last January, my doctor advised me to get myself vaccinated for flu as this would help prevent acute bronchitis from coming back. It is not covered by our healthcare provider. The last time I asked, you could get the vaccine for Php800, but through the program that Kate's company, their HMO and GSK have, we will get the vaccine for only Php350.

Hopefully, I will also have the slot for the cervical cancer vaccine as well. Kate said it will only cose Php1650/shot for a total of 3 shots within 6 months. That's over 60% savings since it cost around Php6000-Php7000 per shot.

Check out this article:
http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=419193

another lazy entry

As usual, I'm too tired (or lazy) to write a decent blog entry...

First, I would like to apologise to my Uno Animo teammates. No pictures yet from our get-together last March 30. I know the pics I have are not a lot but I know you love to see them too. When I have the time (yeah, right!), I will post them in Facebook and our yahoogroups site. =)

Here is a presentation (uh-huh) of the things I've done, been doing, will be doing and would've wanted to do:

I had dinner with my bessy, Gran a few days after he got back from his Asian tour. He got me a bag, a couple of keychains and a fridge magnet from Singapore. What a thoughtful sweetheart! The pictures he and JB took of Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand were amazing, but the stories he told were hilarious. =)

Uno Animo (Alex, Cacai, Dustin, Febe, RJ, Tetay, Vayie and me) and Grumpig (Milo) had merienda/dinner at Dad's Glorietta last March 30, Monday/payday. Tin was missing in action but for a valid reason so she's forgiven. =P We also met Cacai's boyfriend, Ivan.

As you already know, Tita Tess, Tito Josal, Inna and Iris arrived from Canada last March to attend the funeral and burial of Tito Josal's father, Mr. Bartolome del Castillo, Jr. in Bicol. They are now in Baguio with my Tita Bebot, my cousins Andrea and Camille, my sister, Josine, my brother, Joshua and my niece, Nikki. I was supposed to join them but work got in the way. (What's new?!)

I watched the movie , "Race to Witch Mountain" with Bubi. The plot was predictable but the characters were entertaining.

Csar and I learned that tea latte tastes awful - the hard way. It is a rarity that I would dare try something new and it was not a good experience. =(

I went to a bookstore sale and found this cool dictionary from Oxford: The Official Dictionary of the Unofficial English. It was on sale for Php150, but wasn't able to get it -- found that I only have Php110 in my pocket and didn't have my ATM card with me. Bummer!

I would like to greet my bessy, Apol a very happy birthday (April 7). I wish we could see her soon and spend loads of time with her since she's been working for the last year - almost nonstop.

Birthday wishes also goes to my gradeschool friend, Ivylaine (April 6), my supervisor Mitch (April 7) and my ex-boyfriend, Cerwin (April 8) and to a baby sister, April Adap (April 9) who is now a wife and a mother to a beautiful family.

These are the songs that I just love listening to these days: I Stay in Love (Mariah Carey), Heaven Sent (Keyshia Cole), Insomniac (Craig David), One Step at a Time (Jordin Sparks), More to Life (Stacie Orrico), Forever & Because of You (Boyce Avenue version).

Csar and I did our best to catch the movie, "Knowing" (starring Nicholas Cage) together and we did. We found it interesting as subtly showed the unity of faith and science in our lives. The movie looked like a blockbuster movie in the making. I've seen a few movies these past months and I've never seen a cinema this packed since Harry Potter and Twilight. With or without the hype, it was worth it. The movie will leave you thinking.

Before we watched "Knowing", Csar and I had lunch at Bigoli's (Trinoma), an Italian restaurant Tetay and I "discovered" (from a clickthecity.com review) while looking for a nice place where we can hold the Mean Girls' little get-together with our former supervisor, Spawn.

Bigoli's has this new promo: Eat-All-You-Can Pizza for Php199 only. The price includes a refillable drink. Eat the most number of pizza slices will earn you a place in their Hall of Fame and a shirt. So far, a Nursing student from UST, "Jogar" Garcia holds the record for eating 25 slices of pizza. Beat that! But remember, this promo is only available between 10am-2pm everyday.

I dropped by at the Fully Booked Gateway Mall branch and National Bookstore Superbranch last Monday. I got a couple of stuff added to my wishlist: an LED slim book light and a red grab bag (super cute) which I want to buy this coming payday. I also passed by the Girbaud store and I found the three most adorable bags I have ever seen since I visited the store last Christmas. I hope I will have the extra cash to take at least one of those cuties home.

I will soon be seeing my ex-boyfriend who I haven't seen in a decade. (Yup, he's the forgetful ex. hehehe) We still haven't agreed on the details because of my crazy schedule.

I'll be taking Education classes starting April 13. My classes will be from 9am-1pm, Mondays to Fridays. I'm so excited! It'll be a little bit tough since I will be attending my classes after my work shift at 7am, but I welcome the challenge because finally I'll be doing something beyond the walls of the office. That doesn't mean you will be seeing me more relaxed.