I need a hug...

There are just so many things that happened since the last time i wrote on this blog. Events that challenge my abilities and my limits.

I have never felt this tired physically. I am always on the go. Meetings here, events there. Plus the 1.5 hour drive to and from home. Imagine that.

I have never felt this tired mentally. Not being able to control the things around you adds up to the mental stress of getting things done.

I have never felt this tired emotionally. As most friends have observed, i have trust issues. I don't share too much information on what's going on with my life. I prefer keeping them to myself. But when i do care to share,i tend to break down. This is who I am and I know it's not good to be like this forever.

This post may seem as a rant session. But it's not.
This post may imply that I am giving up. But I am not.
My body makes me feel that I'm not okay. But my inner self drives me to finish what i started.
I may have some doubts about myself and my choices. But i have to move on.

I need a hug to reaffirm myself that what I'm doing is right.
I need a hug to reignite my confidence that everything's going to be alright.
I need a hug to assure myself that i am not alone after all. And that someone does care.

The first half of my 2011 in a flash

Time really does fly fast.  New sets of friends, challenges and wonderful memories have been added to my life.

January 7: My last day in Cebu as part of my Sales stint as a Nestle Corporate Management Trainee.  The team gave me a surprise despedida party. As expected, I cried.

January 14: My birthday. Got a birthday surprise from my new team, CPW Regional Headquarters. I really did not expect it. My mentor, Carlo, was orienting me about the brands and packaging and went to the conference room. Upon entering the room, all the members of the team (including the big bosses) were there! Again, I cried.

Celebrated my birthday with my Nestle batchmates and college friends at Grilla (Rockwell).  Money spent was all worth it.

January 15: My first day at the gym! Just made me realize how weak I was back then. May konting improvement na naman. Haha! ABAM Grand Alumni Homecoming -> good to see old and new faces.

January 22:  Legal and Liberal party as well with Yesterday Club. It was definitely a night to remember! :p

January 25-28: Nestle Sales Kick Off. First time to attend one. In a few months, our batch will be organizing the 2012 Kick Off. Talk about pressure and stress. haha! Got to see my EV team as well. Proud to see the team win awards :)

January 29 2 am: First time to get wasted. Overflowing drinks during the last night of Kick Off.

February 14: What's this? haha

March 10: My first teleconference with CPW's different markets to discuss the mall and trade activation ideas I made for Kung Fu Panda 2.  Happy to see that some ideas were used during the KFP2 promo period.

March 19-20: Laiya with high school friends. Vanessa's despedida outing. :)

April: Got my midstint evaluation. Happy thoughts! :)

May 13: Despedida party for me from CPW ROHQ. Pizza party at CPK. I love this team. :)

May 17: First day at DHNS BU. My new role is the MPED brand champ for Nido GUM.

May 26: Nestle Centennial Celebration preparations. As part of MPED, i got to assist in the preparations for the Employees' Night held at SMX and SM MOA Cinema.

May 27: Employees Night! My task was to handle the celebrity guests. Although I was really assigned to take care of the GMA artists, I didn't miss the chance to be with ABS-CBN stars: Piolo, KC, Jake, Luis, Toni, Derek and Eric.  I loved Derek, Luis and Jake the most. Very humble and approachable.

<will insert picture with Derek here> hehe

June 10-12: Nestle Centennial Film Anthology "Kasambuhay Habambuhay" free screening at Mega Mall. On June 11-12, I went to SM Rosales, Pangasinan to oversee the free screening as well. Was able to memorize the "Owl and the Pussycat" declamation piece used in the movie, "The Howl and The Fussyket."  It was indeed a success. So proud to be with Nestle. :)

So far, these are the highlights of my 2011. There are some things that I still did not unveil. Need to think about it. haha!

Hope the next half of the year would be as awesome as the first. Need to socialize more and spend time with my friends this time. :)

Good night world!

Christmas and Growing Up

Christmas is the day when families are supposed to be complete and having fun. In our family, we used to be complete every Christmas Eve. But, things change. Status change. People change.

All of my brothers are married already. They each have their own kids and families.  Before, all of them would come home on Christmas Eve and celebrate Christmas with Papa, Mama and me.  Sometimes, my cousins and their families would join us in the celebration as well.  

Before, all of them would already be in our house at 7pm. Have dinner together. Go to Church together (well for some of us who hear mass).  At 10pm, we'll all gather around the sala and wait for the year's Christmas presentation. Yes, we do have Christmas presentations.  All of my 3 brothers and their families would compete against each other with the assigned theme given by me.  Kuya Pet often gets the first prize - since he was single til he got married. Kuya Boy often presents the most unusual and impromptu act, while Kuya Dennis would often perform with complete props and costume. Our cousins would judge and decide who will win the most coveted cash prize! 

We also used to have food-eating games where I divide the group into two and put "secret" food on the table.  I remember one time when I placed a straw with holes into the Coke bottle.  They thought it was easy, but in the end, their tummies were filled with air!

Plus, we used to have color theme for our outfit on Christmas day, which is cheesy, but it makes our family portrait more lovable and memorable.

It was a night filled with fun and laughter.  People were yelling, screaming and laughing hard.  It was a night when one is excited to open gifts after all the presentations were seen.  It was a night when everyone was excited to go to the dining table during Noche Buena. It was a night when my family was complete and we were all having fun.

I'm not saying that we are not happy for the past two years that my family is not complete during Christmas (and even New Year). We are happy. We look forward to celebrating Christmas. But not as happy as we were before.  I can see it in my mother's eyes whenever she learns that my brothers can't make it to Christmas Eve with us. Papa and I just fool around and say that "This is reality. They have their own families now. And someday, I will have my own as well." :p

We have to move on.  As cheesy as this sounds, what matters most is our love for each other. We may not celebrate Christmas together all the time, but we know that we have each other 525,600 minutes every year.

student no more

After weeks of immersing myself into this what they say is the "real" world, I have come to realize that I no longer am a student. I'm no longer a child. Everyday, I stumble upon and interact with different people with different job descriptions. And whenever I come home, I ask myself, do i see myself doing this for most of my life?

Sometimes, I ask myself, what if nag law school na lang ako? or what if nag aral na lang ako sa ibang bansa? Too many what ifs that just keep me hanging. I don't know. Maybe I just miss being a college student.

Sometimes, I just wanted to stay at home, watch tv, eat, sleep, watch tv, internet all day.  I see pictures in facebook making me remember the things we used to do in college - back when we were just getting to know our new friends, our blockmates, our orgmates.  Pagtatag ng mga friends sa wall photo na cartoons, pagtambay sa tambayan para tumawa at magkwentuhan, pagpunta sa mall after ng finance class, pag-iinternet at pagchachat habang nagcaclass. 

I miss all of these.  Then I realize, it's over. Only now when it has already been months after graduation.

Nevertheless, I like where I am now. I am with a good company, and I am proud to be part of it. Despite all the challenges I foresee, I am in this to win this. Maybe in four to six years time, I will be a student again. Who knows?

when your hard work paid off

I know this coming graduation will just be the beginning of another journey. But so just i could have something to look back to (or just to preserve this article because i know after a few months this page will not be accessible anymore), I am pasting an article that showcases all my hard work and perseverance during college.
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UPD holds 99th graduation rites

More than 4,000 candidates for graduation will receive their academic degrees at the 99th General Commencement Exercises to be held April 25 at the University Amphitheater at UP Diliman.
Leading the candidates are 25 summa cum laude, all of whom have earned a cumulative weighted average grade (CWAG) of 1.20 or better. Heading the top honors is Jordana Cristina R. Valencia, Bachelor of Science (Psychology), with a CWAG of 1.087, followed by Miguel Carlo L. Purisima, BS in Electronics and Computer Engineering (BSECE), 1.096.

The other top honors are: Raymund Siegfrid O. Li, BS in Business Administration and Accountancy (BSBAA), 1.101; Hyacinth Mae G. Tambago, BS in Chemical Engineering (BSChE), 1.102; Pearl Aimee C. Balleta, Bachelor of Science (Psychology), 1.112; Kenneth Robert C. De Guzman, BSChE, 1.118; Danielle P. Canlas, BS in Computer Science (BSCS), 1.124; Diane Lourdes G. Reyes, BS in Business Administration (BSBA), 1.129; Patrick Dela Paz Ramoso, BSChE, 1.132; Ma. Isabella C. Pamintuan, BS in Molecular Biology & Biotechnology (BSMBB), 1.132;  Allyanna C. Anglim, BS in Economics, 1.142 and Anna May L. Navarrete, BS in Family Life and Child Development (BSFLCD), 1.145.
Completing the list are: Cristina Maria P. Cayabyab, Bachelor of Music (Conducting), 1.15; Maria Kristina S. Gallego, Bachelor of Arts (Linguistics), 1.151; Ryan Oliver T. Lim, BSBA, 1.157; Fides Angeli DLC Zaulda, BSMBB, 1.157; Monelle G. Capistrano, BS in Economics, 1.16; Miguel Carlos I. Gonzalez, BS in Chemistry, 1.161; Runyi Wu, BSBA, 1.175; Mynard Bryan R. Mojica, Bachelor of Science (Statistics) 1.181; Roana Bianca C. Reyes, BS in Industrial Engineering, 1.185; Sandra Mae T. Magalang, Bachelor of Arts (Public Administration),1.188; Joyce Jackilynn C. Tan, Bachelor of Elementary Education, 1.191; Nina Rebecca R. Ramos, BSFLCD, 1.193 and Israel Jordan R. Samson, Bachelor of Science (Statistics) 1.197.
Of the top honors, Gallego has been selected to speak on behalf of the graduating class.
In addition to the top honors, UPD has 236 magna cum laude and 928 cum laude. The magna cum laude is awarded to a graduate with a CWAG 1.45 and the cum laude for a CWAG of 1.75.
Of the total candidates for graduation, 3,443 will receive their undergraduate while 830 will be conferred graduate degrees.


Source: http://www.upd.edu.ph/~updinfo/index92.html

my boyfriend

Niga Higa.  I really like him. He's cute, he's smart and of course, he's definitely FUNNY. I even subscribed to his YouTube channel (which I'm proud to say has over 2,000,000 subscribers already! I think he's the first one to achieve such number of subscribers. :))

Here are some of his videos:


"Who just Beibered?" haha

This next video is really memorable.  My friend Cams and I watched this video in class! We looked really stupid because we were trying to prevent ourselves from bursting out and laugh as hard as we possibly can!

And this one, i just viewed now as I make this post. haha :)







That's my Ryan. Niga Higa. hahaha :) stalker much? no, just a fan. :)

Oh Lord, please make a way na magkita kami. Pretty please. Kahit mag college ako ulit para maging classmate ko sya. or whatever.

Mag YouTube na rin kaya ako? Maybe he'd feature me or something. TEEHEE!

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for more videos from Niga Higa, visit http://www.youtube.com/user/nigahiga

Fixer and Faster

I went to Riverbanks to finally apply for my NBI Clearance. My father and I were expecting that the queue will be shorter since not so many people visit that place. We were wrong. So, we tried checking out the QC City Hall office.

When we were looking for parking, someone helped us look for one. malamang. When we got out of the car, that person offered to "help" us apply for the clearance - "RUSH" version. So okay, at this point, he must be a FIXER.

I suppose everyone knows what a fixer is and what he/she does. He/she makes applicants' lives easier... and FASTER. but of course, there is a trade off. You have to pay a certain amount. In my case, I paid 450 for Police Clearance (instead of 520 for NBI) because the process is much faster. This amount already includes the processing and of course, the TIP.

After 15 minutes of waiting (compared to others who would wait for at least 2 hours), I got the clearance. He even delivered the clearance in the parking lot! HAHA

Obviously, this made people who avail of their services easier. but, have we ever thought that this certain act is unfair to others who woke up at 5am just to be first in line? Or in a much deeper analysis, this just shows that those who have the "money" are really more powerful and can avail of easier and faster things in life.

But wait. Why do these people (FIXERS) exist anyway? Most of them have connections to the people inside the office. Even some of them are those who are working inside the office!! is this another evidence that government employees are not compensated enough??? Or is it just that not these services/offices are provided enough investments to provide us with better services? Should we blame those corrupt officials? Or should we blame ourselves for patronizing these services?

Let's think. Let's ponder. Fixer and Faster? or Bigger and better? Bigger honest and clean investment to making the services faster, thus providing a better service to the people.

DR