Egad! Egay!

Remember how I used to whine before on not having any plans for summer getaway this year? (Actually, it’s more like having a really nice swimwear without any place to wear it, haha!) It turns out that I was wrong about it. The month of May has got me busy with consecutive weekend trips (oh thank you holidays!) and here’s a photoblog of where and when:

May 1: Crismar Fishing Resort, Los Banos, Laguna

First of all, shame on you GMA for not moving the Labor Day holiday to Monday! Anyways, this was with the Laguna folks. It was really sweet to be here because everybody’s just missing me, specially the kids. (awwww!!!) Almost everyday, they were texting me, “Ate KC, kelan ka babalik dito?” God, I love these kids! (ages range from a naughty 5-yr old boy to blossoming 16-yr old girls). It’s the first time for most of them to see me after I left Intel. (I stayed in Laguna for the latter part of my years at Intel, fyi)

May 12-14: Gumaca and Pitogo, Quezon!

Yep, May 12! After arriving from Davao, I packed (again!) my bags for a journey to Laguna first where the meeting place is (Padua’s residence). Though still tired, I’m sort of obliged to come here to deliver some of my fruits for pasalubong and the malongs for my Besty Joy since next weekend is already planned. I’m glad she loved the print ‘coz my instinct really told me that pink one was best for her. :) This time I’m not with the kids but rather, the elders (Tita Vener, Tita Millet, Glenn, Bundy, Joy, Kuya Jeff and Kuya Gabby). But however matured they are, the saying “There’s a little child in all of us.” holds true as shown in the pics below. We had so much fun with my phone’s multi-shot capability, haha!

Aside from the swimming, a heavy downpour occurred around 2 PM in the Sunday afternoon; Kuya Gabby and I found ourselves having a shower outside the house we’re staying. (How I love rain! :)

After swimming, I found my face looking like this:

They say I look like a Japanese. :)

May 18-20: Party Hearty Puerto Galera :)

This is considered to be a reunion of my Intel superfriends: Myk and Lisa. (Xtian is in Penang, bad!). Being the party lovers that we are, we’re so so so excited to see the place. It’s my and Lisa’s first time to be there. Even Mike is anticipating I suppose the last time he went there was really fun.

Lisa was the appointed organizer for the event. She settled for Coral Cave resort she spotted in the Internet after getting pissed with how the Coco Beach agents in Malate treated her. So around 11 AM, we arrived at Sabang beach where some crew from the resort will pick us up. Before long, we arrived at the resort eagerly.

In the resort, we were like “Ok, so where’s everybody? Where are the people?” It appeared that we’re the only borders of the resort for the night. Mike was explaining that this is not where the party is. It’s in the White Beach, the other side of Puerto Galera. We are in Sabang beach! Lisa’ was so apologetic because we have yet to travel around 45 mins – 1 hr in order to get to the place. But everybody’s spirit was cooperative. It’s as if saying in unison, “We’re already here! Let’s make the most out of our stay. Look at the positive side; we’re having this resort only for ours in the night. And tomorrow some 12 guests will be arriving.”

While waiting for our orders for lunch, we roamed around the resort and found that it’s not bad after all. We found out that it’s a diving center so most likely only foreigners visit it. The view is really beautiful as seen from the resort and really tranquil. Well, take out points for not having a videoke. :D See pics below:

See? But still, we think that the resort is good for some retreat and not for party people like us. We intended to visit the White Beach the next day and come back Sunday morning. It’s low tide in the afternoon so we frolicked for some time in the coraled waters after lunch (btw, we all wore surfing shorts unintentionally that day;) and had some photo-ops.

But for me, it’s still THE BEACH! The clear water looks so inviting, my spirit immediately permeated through them and we all changed for swimming. Weeee!!!

Apparently, we can’t do so much on the beach but just hurt our feet with the rocks. We saw some kayak boats and decided to rent it but they’re all wrecked. Fortunately, on the most right side of the resort is like a small village where the common occupation is fishing. They allowed us to rent their boats so we paddled and paddled for some 2 hours. The boat is only good for 2, Mike stayed on the boat and Lisa and I have to each take turn. But everybody’s wary and afraid to propel beyond due to the current. So after taking my turn, one man was kind enough to ride me in his boat and accompany Lisa and Mike’s boat to tour the island some more. We got to see more of the place and I get to snorkel a bit and see sea creatures: lotsa blue starfishes, angelfish, unidentified fishes (hehe) and some scary sea plants. (Praise God for the beauty of the undersea, I’m really eager to learn scuba diving.) Everybody enjoyed it and got exhausted paddling, except me only the mama is paddling. Haha!

We changed and we had our dinner. Allow me to mention, the price of the food there is skyrocketing. The one serving their talking about is already good for 2 so we had to budget our meal coz we’re not sure if there’s an ATM machine in Puerto Galera. The night was so peaceful, engaged in some talks while Lisa and Myk puffed. Stayed in the room, enjoyed the cable and slept early. So early that I wasn’t able to catch PBB.

‘Til now I can’t explain but there’s this thing in the provinces that causes you to wake up early. I woke up 7 AM and I already found Lisa and Myk having coffee outside. (Everybody knows how I use to wake up around lunch time on day offs!) Had another skimpy breakfast and changed again for swimming. The water has risen up and after getting acquainted with what lies underneath it, I braved the sea and swam far away. (Unlike the beach in Quezon where there are a lot of jellyfishes, ewww!) True enough I was able to set a record in doing freestyle in my entire life; it’s considered an accomplishment. :) Well, truthfully, I was more interested in the amount of calories I burned, haha!!

In as much as Myk and I really like to stay in the water, we had to leave the resort temporarily to probably have a cheaper lunch outside and find a place where we can shell out some dough. Unfortunately, the ATM is not working in a resort somewhere in Sabang. So we headed to White Beach just to have some taste of banana boat for us and party life. Upon arriving, a sight of crowded restaus, teeming beach, packed lodges and congested lanes filled my cornea. And suddenly I longed for the serene surroundings I was just with 2 hours ago. It’s as if I already made a connection with nature in that environment, I wanna come back! I don’t anticipate anymore the party even if I see lot of cute guys around. I brought up the idea but coming back will only cost us more. *sigh*

It took us some time to find a house to stay for just the night; no available room near the beach and prices are still high for houses near the roadside. Thanks for our bargaining power, we were able to find a room within the budget. Among us, Lisa was the one most interested in partying. Though I have a sexy outfit for the night (no pics I didn’t bring my phone from the lodge), I just feel sleepy and keen to return to our lovely resort. The music just kept me dancing a bit; famous of which is the howling of people in Gwen Stefani’s Sweet Escape. Stayed in the sand where Lisa did her eye contacts and all and Myk sleeping, haha!

Lisa’s hooking power was once more proven as someone bought her a drink and talked to her. The guy has company but I’m not interested in meeting them. I just played with my I600 games while she chatted with him and Myk still sleeping, hehe. Their conversation took some bloody minutes that I had to call someone to busy myself. Around 2 AM, we’re still there sitting prim and poised. We noticed some set of guys who are so obviously looking but didn’t have the b**** to approach. Shame on you, guys! Unlike this guy Nico who shocked me when he slouched himself next to me (well, minus for that part) but his methodology is so gentlemanly. Introduced himself properly, chit chatted with us casually and parted with us nicely (with a matching beso with him *gush*) Sad to say he’s looking for three girls to introduce to his friends because he lost in a drinking match. Have I mentioned that he’s a real CUTE Korean? ^_^ Oh well, his presence was enough to complete my night. And I do hope to bump with him someday in one of the party places in town. Can’t forget him.

Around 3 AM, we headed back to our room. Slept and tried once more the ATM in the same Sabang beach, but again it’s offline. (Such a shame Puerto Galera, there are swarming foreigners and tourists visiting you but there has been no decent ATM machine, phbbbt!) My agenda for today is to beat my record but heck! I found myself trying once more DIVING!! It’s my first again after lost count of years doing so, would you imagine? I also encouraged Myk to try it, he really haven’t done it and learned it after some tries. So this is another capture-worthy moments and really thanks to my D900i’s multi-shot function. Enjoy trail and video below. :)

Our check out time is 12 PM, we had to hurry our last photo-ops in the water. Our money wouldn’t allow us to have anymore lunch in the place. Good thing they’re accepting credit cards so we were able to pay the bills in the resort. The combined money we have is just enough for the transpo. Yay! Had our last pictorial and video of the resort and left Coral Cove. It was with a heavy heart when I left the place but I already negotiated with the landlady to give us discount ‘coz I promised myself “I shall return.” *sigh*. I made a video (sort-of-hosting) the place, that was my party outfit. Hope your head won't ache after viewing, hehe.

It took me some time to get over it, I spent the next days looking over and over the pictures. Such a short stint but I fell in love with the place. I do look forward returning this same year. Anyone?

That’s a rundown of my escapades this year. The aftermath? A really egay version of me. Never have I been unconscious of how my complexion will be when I’m in the beach. But who cares? I had fun, fun, fun under the sun! :)

Now It Can Be Told

As major differences start to surface, allow me first to tackle the things that "I knew" back then after resigning I will be happy doing without and for some be sad having without. :( They're now sinking in.

(-) No more waking up at 4 AM. Come on, who wants to do this? This is really a pain in the a** for me coz I’m a late sleeper and sometimes an insomniac. Before in college, a 7 AM laboratory class is already considered to be a REAL complaint for me. But after 2.5 yrs of rising at 4, let’s just say that I’m now waking up to sunny skies and clear dispositions. Wehehe

(+) Speedy yet cozy transpo buses. I miss seeing those DNA shuttle buses. I still have lucid memories of how I chase after them in Nagtahan (all hail the latecomer, haha!). You know the thing like, you arrived at the pick-up point just a second too late and then you see the bus slowly leaving after which you put on your Lydia de Vega mode to run after it. If you’re lucky to get in pace with it you knock endlessly ‘til your fist hurt hoping someone inside hears you but in vain. (Much like that Shan Cai and Dao Ming Su scene in Meteor Garden but sans the orange bag, haha!). Aaarrgh! On the other hand, sleeping there in the early morning is a wonderful experience. You’ll need a jacket in order to have a good catch up of your probably-four-or-five-hour rest at home, else you’ll die of cold. There’s also this small chit-chats after work with your so-called "shuttlemates" and there are hundred tales to tell on relationships developed on these situations. :) Speaking of shuttlemates, there’s Glenn and Fely for Calamba, Myk for Cubao and Daisy and Froi for Nagtahan. Forever remembered is Fely’s Hay Naku sigh and yawn in one. So cute and funny. :D

(+) The Urban folks. Intel values diversity in workforce and this is very obvious once you entered the production floor. The production floor..aaah!! This is where I can be in my usual pasaway self. It’s where I can play my mp3s out loud side by side with the machine’s noise. And ok, ok I miss my machine too for crying out loud sake. This is also where I can shout/yell jokingly with the MTEs. There was one who just learned the news the other day, messaged me in Friendster and said they wouldn’t have a muse anymore for the next tournament. Haha! (Quick flashback: His team appointed me as muse last time, gave me the uniform and all, but I didn’t show up on the parade, hehe.) It was also fun making chika with the MS. I truly respect these workers. They’re responsible for all the legwork behind those Intel Centrino, Pentium and Iphone. They’re also my fans (how conceited!), always on the watch for what I wear. Too bad, I wasn’t able to at least donate earrings as souvenir to them. Why earrings? Because it’s the most obvious accessory when you’re garbed in this, err…

Discreetly taking a shot inside the prod floor ( my machine behind ;)

smocks, goggles and ESD shoes; which brings me to my next point.

(-) Dressing. I miss the times when I can just wear anything since no dress code back there. My costume ranges from the casual and carefree unusual dress-down to sexy sporty to ultra corporate to provocative party (superlative eh?). The possibility is endless, like one divided by zero, infinite. It was sort of helpful since I didn’t have to do a 100% wardrobe change for my new work unlike Lisa, hehe. (You may have read the BnW Saga, ‘twas edited you may want to check out.) And now I’m here in a company division in what I perceived to be a Mecca when it comes to fashion and all but I was wrong. They fell quite short of my expectations, a fashionista’s manque. People here don’t even dignify the term corporate. Sorry, I was just disappointed because I have no one to be comfortable with when I’m in my dress..hihi.

(+) The American culture itself. NO time in/out, open door policy, egalitarianism, automated transactions, loose restrictions on network and the value for safety, cleanliness and ergonomics. I emphasized the last 3 ‘coz I’m really seeing a BIG difference in here. Yeah, my old cube may have been messy due to a lot of err boxes containing these machine spare parts and others but cubes here doesn’t compare to that. Back at Intel, employees are pampered with ergonomically positioned office peripherals. It’s a good thing that the engineers’ area here is better than theirs. Whew!

(+) The Intel folks. With this I meant those whom I mingle with in the cubicle/ mezzanine area, the regular shift guys. Of course, Intel hires only the ahern..best. I will definitely miss working with these intelligent, professional, cream-of- the- crop persons of the universities. I know I just have to carry on all the values and bring with me all the things I learned from them in my new workplace. They’re further broken down into:

a) The BI folks. They’re specially mentioned here because they considered me as "adopted" in their group. ;) This group is where Mike, Xtian and previously Lisa belong. Even though not part of the group, they invite me during lunch-outs, the Hot Air experience and their kind treatment towards me. :)

b) The Assembly Guys. Starting from DP, CAM, IHS, Epoxy, BE..blah blah blah.. Miss these guys!! And sure enough, being the Barbie of the organization, how can they ever forget me? ;)

Look for Barbie :)

JP, Sam, Rina, Me and Allen after swimming

c) The CAM folks and the Videoke Sessions. I don’t know if it was quite destined for this group since all the people here specially my boss are SINGERS! Haha. During videoke sessions, they always ask me to spearhead on the videoke and with me not stranger to singing myself, who am I to resist and withhold my world famous rendition of I Will Survive? Wahaha! Yes, they will forever remember me with that song. It was often changed to CAM Will Survive during group presentations. Why? Ahem and double ahem, CAM is the MOST complex process in assembly engineering. And since explaining the process will take me more than 2 sentences, I’ll probably be contented with expounding the acronym, Chip Attach Module.

goofin' around during a teambuiding

c) My NEOmates. NEO is our term for batchmates, short for New Employee Orientation. These are the persons whom you get really close at first because of the 2-week classes training. This is our batch, mostly fresh graduates during that time so you can just imagine the how close we’ve become. And in that batch, only 47% (analytical eh?)are remaining at Intel (or should I say stuck? haha)

The CMO Module Guys in our NEO, further divided into 2: Assembly and Test. When I say module, it actually means Process and Equipment Engineer or must I say the overworked and underpaid? Haha!

Test Folks: Joseph, Joanne, Sheena, Lisa and Gilbert

But in order of resignation, hehe: Sheena, Gerald, Lisa and Joanne, and Gilbert (only Gilbert’s left).

Assembly (Now and Then)

Daisy, Fely, Roy and a very slim me, huhu

After 2.5 years and a probably-10-lb-average later (10 lbs average for all of us, hehe)

totoys and nenengs no more, wehehe
Dec '06 @ Congo Grille, Alabang

d) My Super Friends and Lunch-Outs @ Tagaytay. I don’t know how it boiled down to the four of us (Lisa, Myk and Xtian). But I can still recall that it all started with 7 of us (AJ, Myk, Xtian for boys and Joanne, Pau, Lisa and I for girls). And when I mention these names, I mean the most eligible bachelors and bachelorettes CV1 (our building) has got to offer. Haha! We're forever hitchers in Xtian's Jimny, Mazda 3 and his racing car with the Matonetiks sticker at the back. It's funny for the umpteenth times that we've been there we never got a picture of the four of us. Only this, candidly and sans Xtian.

the usual coffee after lunch guys.. :)

I've sufficiently loaded you guys with pictures. That'll do for now. This can still have a part 2 and I'll be hoping you'll all stay tuned. :)

Nationwide Tour#1: Davao

My first month @ Samsung was coincidentally commemorated with a business trip to Davao. Sweet, isn’t it? =) As I’ve mentioned, the HHP Team will be conducting a product roadshow Friday @ Marco Polo hotel so Wednesday night got me packing up my bags for a Thursday night flight, straight from work!!

Now I’m a bit shy to admit this section but I’ve got to be honest here. This is just my second air flight in my entire life. Forgiving, right? But the last one was when I was 7 yrs old flying to Cagayan with Mama and Kuya to meet Papa. Sheeessh, at least it’s not the first. And I’m anticipating more rides this year. =)

As soon as I stepped on the plane I keenly observed how the stewardesses look nowadays. Nothing, it’s just that someone way back was pushing me to consider this job thinking that I’m fit for it even going to the extent of inquiring for a 1-week workshop for my enrollment, hehe. But as I watch them serve the amenities during the voyage, I was sure I’m not suited for this occupation. Hello? I can’t pull off those smiles and look friendly as I see some irritating passengers.

The Take-Off
Being a first-timer in my adolescent years, what do you expect but me being wide awake the whole journey just to capture all the fun, fears and thrills of being aboard an airplane. Yay! Like anybody else, the much anticipated part is the take-off. It was hard for me to show an unflappable face as the plane tilt by around 45 degrees but I can’t help smile along with that feeling of adrenaline rush. “Wow!” was all I can say to myself. And as the plane stabilizes in the air, I turned to the window and caught sight of the bright lights of Manila in the evening as slightly seen in the window. Slight coz first I was seated second from the pane and second, most of the view was blocked by the right wing of the plane! I rested my head back on the seat as I munch on my Meiji Almonds imagining in my head how or what Davao look like. The next hour was killed by me reading newspapers, watching other passengers, eating the snacks and turning my eyes to anything that is moving, hehe. Not to mention observing the different timbre of air pressure tingling on my ears as I swallow my saliva.

As the travelers were warned for the landing, I swiveled my head to the window and to my surprise; I saw the brilliant city lights of Davao. I was like, “Does my eye deceive me? Is this really Davao?” I was expecting fewer lights, so and so. But as we descend nearer, I realized, “Hello? Your nautical miles (reminds me of my Navi subject way back college) above land! What are you expecting moron?” And soon afterwards, the safe landing; turned on my phone and started texting and calling. =)

We (my boss Sir Jay and Joanne) were greeted by a crew of the hotel and rode the van. The said hotel was like 20 mins away from the hotel and I got to again, observe the roads of Davao. The place doesn’t look any different, I feel like I was just passing along Baesa, Quezon City (feeling road expert, haha!). Soon, I was startled with one of the most common sight in Manila, FLOOD! Yes, nagbaha gid sa Davao! I told ya, it’s no different.

Reached the hotel and took pictures at the lobby for blog purposes. =P Had dinner in one of the party places near the hotel, bought some Marang (a derivative of Durian) for Mama as pasalubong and slept in my cozy bed @ the 14th floor. End of Day 1.

@ the lobby

Of Buffets and Social Drinking

Day 2 started with a knock on the door. Our roommate Raine (product manager) has arrived. I alarmed 6 am so I can enjoy swimming but the bed was so inviting I can’t resist staying and dozing more. This was Davao’s view as seen from our room.

Davao as seen from my room

We had a buffet breakfast 9 am after which we headed to SM Davao to visit the gallery and our dealers. Boy! Were we delighted when we saw a Mango boutique inside? Of course, Raine and I raided the shop while Sir Jay headed to the dealers in the 3rd floor for the audit. A self-confessed-shopping-as-stress-reliever herself, Raine and I did our shopping. We ended buying up clothes at Karimadon, a cute striped top for her and a swimsuit for moi in a tennis-outfit style. Yay!

Then we had a hearty seafood lunch at a restau near the hotel. We were a bit late for our product roadshow which is supposed to be 1 PM. After presenting the roadmap for our mobile phones, I sneaked out of the hall and went with Joanne and JJ to do our souvenir shopping at a nearby shop. (How silly of me not to ask permission from my boss first, tsk!.) I’m just eager to buy sarongs for my summer escapades. I ended up with these beautiful malongs instead and a 5-kilo box of sweet pomelo. (Not to mention a new admirer JJ?) We hurriedly finished our shopping after a call from my boss. We arrived 7 PM back at the function room just to have myself another buffet dinner. (Now, I really have to do my swimming tomorrow.)

malongs for pasalubong

After the dinner, another fruits shopping this time with the marketing managers (my boss already left for Manila before dinner). And I was sales-talked to buy this mangosteen after Ma’am Fe (my boss’ boss) moaned how astronomic they’re prices are back in Manila. Again, another box for myself after tasting it. It cost me Php400 for 5 kilos, wise buy isn’t it? (God, I really am not good when it comes to market shopping of veggies, fruits or food.) But, it’s really delicious and I now have another favorite fruit. =)

Warning: If you’re a heavy drinker, then don’t read this section.
To be honest, I don’t look forward to the evening. I’m not sure about this but according to people here; Koreans are known to be heavy drinkers. Or, maybe it’s just the VPs here or the marketing section itself, not sure. Therefore, employees are expected not to turn down the VPs when offered by any drink. Though our VP is not here, there’s one manager Sir Mark who’s known to be an, oh-well alcoholic. And it looks like I can’t avoid him for the night. Beforehand, I already uhmm proposed to sing even if it will take me on stage just to avoid the drink but he doesn’t want to. His condition: a drink and a song on stage. Oh, sod it!

Since I won’t be avoiding any drink, I had no choice. Served in front of us is a bottle of Vodka and a Sprite in can. (I remember this, Lisa advised me to try this since it’s light and specially for females.) So, I guess you can say I’m a vodka-virgin no more. First glass was not bad. They’re asking me to do a bottoms-up but I really can’t. I had to force myself to finish the 1st glass thinking they’ll be contented with that. But no, these monsters aren’t pleased with that! We have to refill everybody’s glasses until we consume the whole bottle. Now, I’m dead. I’ve tried some delaying tactics but to no avail. They’re all waiting for me to finish it up. And the second glass has got me feeling a slight dizzy along with a hot sensation (I guess this is the tama thing they’re talking about.) But I’m still sober though. So quick! I have to make an excuse. Thanks for my indigenous talent in acting, I held my head with my hands as though in pain and zigzagged my way to the ladies room. Haha, a flash of pure genius!

Inside the room, I can hear guffaws from what I did. I simply don’t care. Even if I’ll be the talk of the office on Monday, I don’t give a damn! OK, quick background: My college kadas didn’t allow me to have a drink during college overnights. Maybe it’s to their advantage so they can have the drink for themselves, hehe. My heartache from my past relationship didn’t end me up drinking just to forget what happened, though Joy told me it helped her somehow. My previous team in Intel didn’t force me either, coz I’m their apple of the eye; the only girl in the group. My Intel batchmates were also kind enough to exchange 2 songs on stage in The Library just to escape a San Mig Light. And now, these people whom I’ve been mingling with for barely a month, coercing me to get drunk and my goodness, in Davao? Far far away? No way! So I see you continued reading, huh! Sorry to disappoint you drinker, but you’re talking to your quintessential good girl!

I stayed there in the comfort room for a grand total of 1.5 hrs. I busied myself singing the songs played by the entertainer as well as entertaining myself with the occasional going in and out of my officemates vomiting and slumping themselves on the floor. Haha! Just like the old adage goes, “Nasa akin pa rin ang huling halakhak!” It was 12 midnight when the show ended and everybody went back to their room. My two roommates were already sleeping after getting drunk so I treated my sane self with a dose of Preview magazine Raine bought. After leafing through all the pages, I decided to try my swimsuit on and picture myself. I brought my D900i with me in the comfort room, posed and clicked!

Oops, sorry. Wrong pic, hehe.

photo-op in my swimsuit

A warning reads: “Low battery!” Uh-oh! Gotta take more. So I fumbled for my other phone P930 in my travel bag back to my bed then walked towards the CR again. So its 1:30 AM, there’s an unread message from Lisa probably texted earlier this evening. Opened and said: “Hi gurl! Musta ang weather jan sa Davao? D2 kami ni Gail sa greenbelt, hi daw! (I smile) Nga pla, you know R***** C**** from QnR? He died in a hotel room. Sad.”

And suddenly, I felt a chill from within. No, not coming from wearing just the swimsuit. I hurriedly ran towards my bed and covered myself with the comforter. Kmusta naman ang text na yun, Lisa? Goodness! If really not for Raine and Joy, I could’ve shrieked in horror! I don’t know as to what position I will take just to have my forty winks but somehow I managed to fall asleep. End of Day 2.

Woke up 6 AM Day 3 for my swimming exercise and eventually disturbed everybody because of the alarm. I intend to do 30 mins the very least of burning calories coz my flight is at 9:30 AM. Phoned the concierge but the pool will open by 7 AM. They noticed I slept in my swimwear so I had to explain myself to them. Then shortly, the morning became a ghost-encounters-storytelling session. I related my own, of course. But that’s for another discussion.

I was readying myself for going down 4th floor where the pool is when I decided to check again my travel requirements. I packed my bags last night before reading the mag so I’m pretty sure everything’s settled before I leave. I had a one last check in my hand carry just to make sure when I realized, my ticket is missing! OMG! My e-ticket is missing! I rummaged through my luggage (Samsonite duffle bag giveaway during the roadshow) and found nothing. I sent everybody in panic and got me contacting my boss for help. It’s almost 8 and nothing has been done yet so I had to take my shower hoping a miracle would happen. I’m almost finished when I heard Joy say “KC, ok na!”. I was advised to be in the lobby by 8 AM (pick-up time of the hotel van) and get the faxed e-ticket from the business office. Whew! What a crazy morning!

We arrived early at the airport and I exceeded the allowable luggage weight per traveler. So Ma’am Fe and Raine combined our luggages. One has to be hand carried in order to reach the 60 kg sum for the three of us. We’re a bit early for the flight and my company are both indulging on their mags and books. It made me realized I forgot a lot on this trip, my Podie and a little something to read. So I just called up some friends to while the time away.

Still didn’t sleep during the flight. Arrived safely at NAIA, went back to office to pick up some phones and went home starving.

A new favorite fruit, a new swimsuit, a new traveling bag, a new suitor maybe and a whole new crazy experience! Not bad for my first trip eh?

That wraps up my Davao business trip. Did I just say business? As in work? But I got everything covered already. =)

Word Of The Day

Warning: This entry is not published just to give the writer an authority on the said language.

Let me sing it the RX way in a cookie monster voice: Word-of the day, word of the day jhug jhug jhug word of the day, daba daba daba word of the day..hehehe

As you may have very well noticed from my previous entries and seen on the right side of this blog on About Me section, I am a true-blue English aficionado, a zealot! From winning the English spelling contest in grade school to solving English crosswords puzzle in my father’s newspaper to always being my English teacher’s and professor’s pet to being assigned on the most abstruse novels for book reports until finally bagging the Excellence in English award in graduation, (These are just my fond memories as a student. ;) there’s no question about it. I really do love the English language.**

Even in my previous work, my immediate manager seemed to have a vicarious pleasure on the said lingo. He usually sends e-mails containing highfalutin words that are more often than not, an object of mockery in the work area. (Technical people, remember?) He once forwarded to us an e-mail with a list of idioms he thinks might be useful for everyday conversation but one engineer in the group replied to all “Ayos, magagamit ito sa assignment ng anak ko.” I just usually ride on with the jokes but unbeknownst to them, I appreciate it deep inside. I’m one those people who loathe the idea that engineers are poor or being excused to be poor in English just because they’re technical people.

This passion is that intense that I wanna perfect that TOEFL proficiency exam. Wahaha!!

If you’ll ask me to choose between a novel and a dictionary, I’ll pick the latter because I’m a total sucker for new words to my ears, idioms, synonyms for adjectives. I even want to put off something like a word of the day here (one like that in My Yahoo!) just to learn and be an informative source of English words. But I just don’t know how.
So maybe you’re wondering why entitled this post just like that one above. It’s because I haven’t found the word yet for this addiction of mine. Neologism? Not really. I'm still researching about it but for now, I'll probably be contented with the term English enthusiast. :)

**Ok, ok. For those who will sermon me on that famous line of our national hero with regards to loving our very own language, please allow me to explain. I also love our own. As a proof, I also got the award on Excellence in Filipino in my HS graduation that my classmates call me a linguist. Plus, I do intend do a write-up here in pure Tagalog. I promise you the words will be so profound it will blow your mind. Haha!

A Shopaholic's Diary

Half day work on a Saturday** finds me in the afternoon inside the mall EARLIER THAN USUAL. (Ok, THAT's the diff since before I use to leave the house at around 2 PM.) Just so you know, I’ve been trying hard to resist the temptation of strolling Greenhills mall right infront of the office just to save me from having another shopping haven.

And that same Saturday was my second day for registering in Smart’s Unli texting using a company service unit that is not yet out in the market. (How cool can I be? ;) Would you believe the last time I did that Unli was like eons ago, hehe. (And we’re seriously talking about years here.) So there I was blissfully texting 5 persons at a time (3 of which are my boylets, haha!) while roaming around SM Manila. Before long, I found myself fitting a tube in Human and handing it to the cashier while talking to a former officemate. Ten minutes after, I was pressing my pin for payment of a bag and flat sandals in a shoe salon reading my phone “Sure po. Yun lang pala e. Pleasure is mine, princess :)” After which I was withdrawing for cash transaction in the 2nd floor while typing on my phone “Forever na taung ganito. Luis and Anne, hehe..”

The next thing I know I felt burdened by the four paper bags on my left hand while holding my cellphone on the other.

So I slowed down, put my phone back to my bag, calculated in my head how much I consumed for all these items. I don’t wanna tell the exact figure but the estimate I got just “shocked me, stunned me, knocked the wind out of me and everything else to that effect.”

All in just a span of 1.5 hours. Pretty quick, huh?

I don’t know if it’s just the confusion in texting or the kilig in the messages but just to impart something noteworthy, the MORAL LESSON is: “Don’t you ever text while shopping!” Now I’m not sure if I’ll laugh with what I just said.

Again, would you believe that I intentionally went there just to have me a late lunch? I kid you not!

Anyway, before I go I’d like to leave you with this photo I took inside the mall using my 3.0 megapixel auto focus mobile phone, one of the oops there’s that word again, sexy-albeit-modest wedding gowns I’ve seen in my life.

Nice noh? (* cough cough Xiela Julian*) Haha! Xie, sorry for being too pushy. :) It's just that among my other friends and in our kadas you have the highest chances of wearing this. Hehe. It would really be an honor to contribute something on your wedding, wehehe.

So that has been it for another day of a shopaholic. This splurging has got to stop so I'm putting some measures. One of which I thought would be hepful is the addition of this ticker:



And I wil l be putting this somewhere in this blog to serve as an everyday reminder. I wil be making a separate for each item: bag, shoes, clothes, accessories, etc. So help me God!

**Just got back from Davao. The Saturday here was last May 5th.

Almost Famous!

Of all my posts here, I would have to say that this one has the shortest latency from the time of its occurrence. I still have a lot of stories up for posting mind you but the experience was just so overwhelming that I’m so tickled pink to relate it to you this early. :)

So what’s up? Well, we just had a press conference this morning at the Manila Peninsula. 'Tis my second visit in that hotel ever since I worked for my new company. I was assigned as Beyonce’s representative since she can’t make it. Haha! Kiddin’. Watch out for her TV ad for our units though, really nice!

The conference was about our fashionable Ultra edition phones: I600 the palm pc type, F300 the mp3 player type and F500 the camcorder type. (ehem, plugging plugging ;) I should’ve worn black to match the phone’s theme but I preferred my green satin dress. No, not the taffeta gown which was posted recently but the one mentioned in this article. I looked formal and sort of executive, hehe. It was such a good thing though coz I didn’t want to be stereotyped AGAIN as one of the models. Bwahaha!! And like what I’ve texted to my friends in my true-blue baklita way, “Patalbugan na ng damit itetchiwa. Wahaha!”

Speaking of models, there were Phoem Barranda, Rissa Mananquil and Bubbles Paraiso among the few. Drew Arellano hosted the event and lotsa press peoples and executives were present (oh-so-handsome Direk Lauren Dyogi and oh-so-buffed David Bunevacz). I was star-struck! Of course, the persons whom I have to impress with the most were the ramp directors and the fashion designers (pa-discover effect!). Nyahaha!!

The less enjoyable part of the show is just being an audience during the QnA portion. Technical people are not really the ones visible in this kind of event you know. However, I do promise myself that on the next time, I will have my own share of the limelight. Yay! It’s not that I love attention. I would just like to take my boss’ place because he was the one bombarded with all the techie questions. With that, I didn’t mean overthrowing my manager. I just want to take upon me that responsibility and spare him the burden of facing the people. (I saw how nervous he was this morning.) This inspired me to pace up my learning and just devour everything and anything I need for my current job. Not bad effect eh? Ok, so I do love attention. But being able to do so in a fashionable outfit, English fluency plus brains is a GOOD thing. Right? So not common for an engineer. That’s uniquely KC! ;-)

What I was excited the most is on the publicity. Wahaha. There’s this Giant Board where you know models and celebrities used to pose (that thing you see often in fashion magazines). But of course, who am I to let go of this opportunity? So everyone, I would like to share to you this pic. Pardon the shabbiness of the pose and of the whole pic itself, this was just taken via a mobile phone. My pic taken by the press people will probably be circulating in magazines now and I don’t have access to it. Almost famous! Haha! Let me share, the feeling of posing there is JUST. WOW!! :D

the exhibit

Since we arrived earlier, I had the chance to act as a fashion “connoisseur” for each and every arriving guest. There were no red carpets but the staircase was enough to act as such. There I was at the lobby observing the guests as I see them first through their head then slowly down as they walk up until finally, the whole ensemble. And I have to say, there were a lot that just left me in awe and a few others that really compelled me to cry fashion faux pas!

Haay, I so so love these events! I don’t care if others dislike it because of being superficial as described by one of our managers. (I observed it as the glamorous go beso-beso with each other.) I just love love it! And before I can remember my minor complaints or upcoming complaints here, allow me to say

I LOVE THIS JOB! =)

Tomorrow, I’ll be in Davao for a product roadshow. So again, I’d like to repeat

I LOVE THIS JOB! Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee……..

A Picture's Worth A Thousand Words

For a better understanding of yourself, I submit to you my Visual DNA. Link is provided below for those who want to be tagged. Enjoy! =)

Read my VisualDNA™ Get your own VisualDNA™

War of Nerves

Location: Infront of the mirror, Ritratto’s dressing room, while fitting the green dress.

Conscience:

Oh no you won’t. Number one, the fabric. It closely resembles that thing in formal gowns. It's taffeta. Meaning, you can only use it for “Hey!-look-at-me-I’m-Avant-Garde occasions.” ‘Til then, you can just use it as a nice decoration in your closet. Now onto the details. Ruffles? Sure, it’s in the trend. Ruffles in green? Ahhhh, cute. Bubble skirt in green? Nice also. But ruffled top plus bubble skirt, in green? I’m quite nervous. It’s just too flamboyant. I’ll give it 2 months before that number disappears in the oblivion that is painfully dated fashion. Simply put, this number is not an investment that can go forever. KC, are you even listening?

KC:

Oh yes I will. That's precisely my point. I didn’t buy this just to be a regular Sunday dress. I’m very well aware that it’s a runway dress. Haute couture for crying out loud sake! And please don’t give me that look. The PM dress we bought costs twice as much as this, remember? Besides, haven’t we wished before to have a certain dress that we can pass onto our granddaughters? This can be it! Trust me. We can pull this off nicely. I already have an upcoming occasion for this. And you and I will just SIMPLY. LOOK. POSH! *smug*

Takes off the dress, proceeds to the counter, pays the bill, takes the paper bag and goes off.

-EOS-