Sarah and Jaypee

I know it's kinda late na, coz this all happened last week. Pero I just wanna express how proud I am of my peeps. Two more people from my former team, got promoted again. Congratulations Mami Sarah for being a Coach track trainee and for Jaypee for being and SME track trainee. I'm so proud of you!

I wanna take credit, pero I can't. Hehe! They deserve the promotion coz they really worked very hard, (teka, mukhang di yata bagay kay Jaypee, hehe!). O well, tapos na mga petiks moments mo Jaypee, pero all the same, I'm so happy for you. At last, natupad na ang mga plano natin for you.


Mami Sarah, sometimes when I see you swamped with work, medyo nagi-guilty ako kasi parang lalo kang nahirapan... pero I know that you can handle all the workload, and I know that you'll be one of the best coaches in the company. You had it in you all along. I'm here to support you all the way!

Congrats again! Big Mama proud!

Glory days are near

I've said it before and I'll say it again. I'm so proud of the Aardvarks! The past week alone, they have exceeded my expectations, they have proven that they are the new team to beat!

First, we had an awesome time in our first team building outing in Laguna. Everyone pitched in to make it a success. Walang arte arte, everyone was game. We laughed, danced, sang, ate, swam and laughed some more. It was the perfect opportunity to see teamwork at its best.




They also proved they still got the charm. They worked really hard to pull up their metrics and stats. Their CSAT scores were in low for the first 3 weeks of October. But on the 4th and 5th week, they kept their eyes on the prize and finished the month within goal. Their CSAT score went up through the roof and even got 93% for the 5th week of October. Galing galing!

After that, in the same week, the team won The Best Halloween Decorations. They defended their title and has been the champion 2 years in a row.

And finally, this team is the one of the last 2 contenders for the "Perfect Team Award" for October. We are trying to break our own record of being the only team who has perfect attendance for 1 whole month. 5 days to go, and we're so excited!

Haah! I can see that the Glory Days are so near! I'm so proud of you guys! Keep up the good work and remember to have fun!

lapnos

After a sleepless, hectic and grueling week, I'm finally able to sit down and update my blog. SHAKS! I miss blogging. I miss my ka-bloggers. I miss sharing my mundane thoughts to the world. I miss the freedom to express my feelings, thoughts and creativity.

When everything is a whirl and frantic mess, God finds a way to get your attention and teach you a lesson. In my case, it was in the form of a LAPNOS. Yup! I have 3rd degree burns on my left leg. It literally forced me to 'sit down' and 'stay put'. So now, I have no choice but to relax, heal and on the upside, get back to blogging. Galing talaga!

It was either an act of God or katangahan ko na naman. I went grocery shopping last night with Tek, Kujo and Mommy in Hi-top. After shopping, they went ahead in the parking lot and passed by through the side entrance near Henny Penny. Since naiwan ako, I decided to go through the front. It was really crowded kasi daming cars passing by and motorcycles parked in front.

I miscalculated, forgot my body's dimensions, and tried to squeeze in between two motorcycles... feeling payat kasi. So walking sideways, my leg accidentally touched the searing hot engine of one of the motorcycles. Then I felt a sharp burning pain down one leg...when I bent over to take a look, a large patch of skin was dangling from the hot pink flesh. Grabe! It was sooo painful!!!!


I had to put a cold cream on it to prevent the flesh from dehydrating and getting infected. Right now I'm nursing it with petroleum jelly. This is a first for me. I've never had a major burn wound in my life. Not fun at all. Muntik na maging crispy pata yung paa ko.

As the old adage goes, 'every cloud has a silver lining', and I totally agree. This injury was a gift, really. I have time to heal and rest, time to update my blog, time to chat with my friends... and I get to have breakfast in bed! Hehehe!!

blog update

I know I've been neglecting my blog lately. I just kinda lost momentum coz life just got too busy.

I'm not really complaining, I like to be busy. Especially if I'm doing things that are worthwhile.

I'm finally done with "The Project", YIPEE!!!! (that's for me to know and you to find out). Let's just say that it's something that's loooonnnggg overdue. I may have missed my deadline by 10 days but at least it's done now. I'm feeling good about that. Now it's time to synchronize swatches and make sure all efforts are according to plan.

In the meantime, it's time to get some rest and vacation. I've lots of trips lined up in the next few weeks.

Promise to keep my blog updated about that!

Happy Birthday Shei

To the best B.I. ever!

Happy Birthday Coach Shei!

Embodyments

The weekend Bazaar is back at the Big Tent at Don Antonio Drive. Some of the local residents usually showcase their RTW clothes, Crocs shoes and Gucci bag knockoffs, native handicrafts and of course lots and lots of food.


We usually go to the bazaar everytime they setup in the tent every other weekend. Since most of the clothes don't fit me, I usually end up buying food like California Maki rolls, Ilocos Empanada and other knicknacks. They sell toys, bags, dvds and jewelry.


One of my favorite booths is the spa product display from Embodyment. They have a wide variety of products ranging from foot scrubs to anti-aging creams, from aromatherapy oils and scents, to lip balms and body scrubs. I'm a fan of their organic body butter products and Tek is obsessed with their herbal soaps.

They supply to local spas and beauty salons either wholesale or retailers at VERY reasonable prices. You can get 5 of their herbal soaps for only P199 and a big tub of body butter for only P250. I bought one last month and the tub is still half full.



Here's a shout out to their very warm and friendly owners, Adeline and Leroy. I love your products, and they really work!


Embodyment Organic Essentials available at embodyment.oe@gmail.com and at http://embodyment.organic.googlepages.com/


Hope I can get more discounts next time! Hehe!

FGIF

TGIF!

I've never really dwelled on what these 4 letters really mean before. But today, I finally understood why so many people use them.

Thank God It's Friday...

For one thing, I'm finally on a Mon-Fri schedule. So my last day falls on a Friday. This Friday, I spent the whole day cooped up in meeting, trainings and meeting report deadlines. What a relief! I'm glad the week is over.

The morning sky agreed with me and put on a dramatic light show in purple and pink hues. This is the view from the front lobby of the office.

By the end of the day, I was SOO ready to go home. I couldn't wait! Some of my teammates hitched a ride with me in the van, equally happy that the stressful week was over.

Again, TGIF.

not so nerdy

KOTZ ZWEET! Here's looking at you with your new glasses.

The purple frames with crystal accents are so cute!!! Not so nerdy at all.

Halloween is near

It's that time of the year again.

Weird though.

Halloween is the most festive time of the year in the office. The whole floor is decked in cobwebs, bats and vines, everyone participates and simply tries to have fun.

For the past 3 years, all the teams have been so competitive in designing their stations with macabre and ghoulish decor. This year, we'll continue the tradition, only more challenging. We can't use paper. Hehe!

The Aardvarks need to defend their crown! And we're all pumped and ready to win!

Fuzzy again

Bakit ganoon? Ang galing.

Just when you think you're headed towards a deadend, suddenly the doors swing open and you see someone beating down the door.

Is it really an opportunity, or a distraction?
Is it a temptation or a new challenge?
Is it a test of your loyalty, or a test of your courage?

Wala lang. Ang galing.

Saturday Fun

Had a chance to bond with Tek again. She and Kyle fetched me at the office on Saturday morning and we went straight to Tiendesitas. We ate Three Sisters barbecue and tasted the Avocado cake from Lia's bakeshop. The barbecue was delicious, can't say the same thing for the cake. I finally met a cake I didn't like. Eeyukk!

Tek and I just strolled around Tiendesitas and bought a bunch of Sevilla products. 4 kilo Butung Pakwan for Mom and my favorite, a box of their famous Pastillas de Leche. Didn't have to worry about the milk contamination coz they produce it in San Miguel Bulacan made from carabao milk.

We crossed the street and headed to the Fun Ranch near Tiendesitas. It was my first time to visit the place. It was like a giant playground and amusement park in one.

Kyle went crazy! He was so excited and played non-stop for straight 3 hours! First he played at Active Fun which had slides and padded play area. He was the biggest kid there. His favorite was the Speed Racer go-cart ride. He was an excellent racer! Ayan, may ambition na siya finally. Before he used to say that when he grew up, he didn't wanna work. Now, he wants to be a Nascar racer.

Since super bangag nako sa antok, we left around 3pm and headed home. I slept until the 4am the next day. It was an awesome Saturday, it burned a hole in my wallet, lost my voice completely and left me with painful heels, but it was all worth it.

Groggy in training

The coaches had training this week about a handheld device. It was short and sweet. Mas madami pa ang chikahan compared sa actual training.

This was the hands-on session last night with Ferdz, Donald, Ervin and Berns. Since some of the handheld units had cameras, I took some pictures of the peeps. Look at the groggy faces! Hehe! We can't help it, it was scheduled at 3am-6am!


To fight the sleep, I just played around with Coach Donald's wallet. I found lots of pictures of his family. So cute!

It's hard to remember much about training especially when you're fighting sleep and distracted by cute baby pictures. Hehe... lethal combination.

Fruits on Sandpaper

Kyle had to submit a project to make an artwork of fruits in a bowl using sandpaper and craypass. Now that's fun!

I helped him with the drawing and he copied my work. Wala lang, I felt like a kid again. And using only 8 colors, it's not so bad.

Blog Tag Mania

Blog-tag has been started by Jeff Pulver as a game for a Virtual Cocktail Party. The purpose of the game is for your blog readers to know you better. Jeff Pulver's version only shares 5 things about himself that few of his friends know. Since the blog-tag has really gone a long way, the list of things that you can share with your blog readers have also been increased. If you think your blog readers need to know more than 5 things about you then you can always choose to have a higher number. Same rules still applies.

Here how it goes:

Share 8 things that your readers don’t know about you. Then at the end, tag 8 other bloggers to keep the fun going.

~ Each blogger must post these rules first.
~ Each blogger starts with eight random facts/habits about themselves.
~ Bloggers who are tagged need to write on their own blog about their eight things and post these rules.
~ At the end of your blog, you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their names.
~ Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog

1. I hate frogs.

I'm a classic batrachophobic, which means "someone with an illogical fear of amphibians". I'm afraid of frogs and I hate frogs. I don't see the reason why God created these ugly creatures. I can't even look at pictures or drawings of frogs. I hate Kerokeropi.

One time, while I was watching TV alone in my Mom's room, a frog jumped in and scared the hell out of me. I've never gone in my Mom's room ever since. I always call her to go out of her room if I need to talk to her.

2. I'm a Trekkie!

The geek gene in me is very strong. I love Star Trek, especially the Next Generation Series. I've always had a crush on Data and Spock. I have books, pins, posters, catalogues, memorabilia and recorded TV shows. Back in high school, my friend Leisel and I used to talk in Klingon language. Hehe!

3. Sunrise, sunset.

I love the sun. I worship it sometimes.
I know most people like Sunsets. But I like Sunrises more. The colors maybe less dramatic but Sunrises have special meanings for me. New beginnings, starting over, freshness and cleanliness, and most specially Hope.

4. Book smeller, Slow reader.

I love books, the physical things. I don't like reading online texts. I would rather that I smell the pages, feel the rough or smooth paper, touch the embossed letters of the cover, and look at the fine artistry involved in binding or printing the cover art.

I always buy books but about 40% of them I haven't finished reading. I'm such a slow reader! It takes me 3 weeks to finish a book in my regular pace. I want to consume it and enjoy it longer.

5. Dream Job

Most people would say that they have not done their dream jobs. I have. I'm not doing it now, but I got to experience it already.

My dream job was to be an Eco-tour coordinator for Lagen Island resort in El Nido, Palawan back when I was 23 years old. I got to dive, swim, travel, talk to foreign and local tourists, row kayaks around islands and lagoons, sail a yaught, live in a luxury resort and GET PAID for doing it!

I would love to do it again, but the fact that I got the chance to experience it in my lifetime is enough for me. I'm contented with that.

6. Archeologist, Egyptologist, Paleontologist.

Like I said, the geek gene is strong in me. These are professions that I wanted to have when I was a kid. I've always been interested in mummies, ancient civilizations, fossils, evolution and dinosaurs. I am a product of being exposed at an early age to the Discovery Channel. Indiana Jones was HOT!

7. Pet peeves and toothpastes.

My biggest pet peeve is having toothpaste tubes not properly rolled out or pinched at the middle.

I didn't realize it until my best friends told me about it. One time my friend Jay used the toothpaste in the bathroom and pinched the tube in the middle. I was so irritated. I scolded her about it and showed her how to pinch it from the end so that we don't waste it. Then I realized that I do that for all the bathrooms in the house.

8. Farty Libraries

This is a secret only a few people know about me. But I'm willing to share it to the world.

I fart in libraries... and in places where there are high shelves close to my body. I don't know why, or how it happens. Whenever I go to a bookstore or grocery where there are shelves as tall or taller than me, I always have the urge to fart. Maybe something in my childhood triggered it. I don't know.

Dear friends, when I say I'll buy books or go grocery shopping, I'll understand if you don't wanna join me from now on.

Not Today

I failed to do something today.

Although I tried really, really hard. I just couldn't do it today.

I failed. I broke a promise to myself.

Just not today.

thoughts while waiting

Today, I had to go to the PAL office in Cubao again, for the third time in 2 weeks.

Does anybody know how big of a hassle it is to go to AliMall? I can't park in their parking space coz the height clearance is only 4 feet tall. I can just imagine the roof of the van scraping the low ceilings of the spiral driveway.

When I do find a parking space across the mall, I had to run in heavy downpour to the PAL office coz for some raindance miracle, it's always raining when I go there.

Finally I'm in the PAL office, I get a number from the guard and I had to wait for the queue machine to flash my number. This time I got 82. Great! The last time I was here I got number 515. I waited 3 hours to be served last time. Maybe this time it would be faster.


Looking at the machine, the number was just at 27. But it stayed at 27 for 30mins. And since it was already 11:30 am, one of the agents took her bag, waved her long hair and punched out for lunch. They have six stations, but only 2 were open. This is going to be a looooonngg wait!

It got me thinking, what does PAL stand for anyway?

• Plane Always Late
• Please Avoid Loitering
• Pila Always Long
• Potah, Ang Layo ko pa

I was finally served at 1:20pm. My drool has dried and my butt has numbed. In fairness the agents were courtoues and helpful. But all the hassle and waiting has traumatized me to the point that whenever I pass through Cubao, I start to shudder. Then my thoughts would wander to the small Mall that started it all.

Mga Bisor

I've been rummaging through my old files and found these. Old pictures of the coaches.


This was the breakfast that started it all, Winter and I treated the coaches for Breakfast for our birthday. Look closer, Sir Gene and Sir B were with us. Hay, I miss Sir B.


This was during the coaches team building in Bataan. Dito nagwala sila Alex and Vic sa videoke. This is also when Zweet, Jezer, Ervin and I swam in the beach until 2am.



"San na nga ba? San na nga ba? San na nga bang barkada ngayon?"... just can't get this song out of my head today. I miss the old gang.