last day in manila

24 hours from now, i will be on a plane for my next big adventure.

im excited as hell.

but first i have to re-pack fot the last time. hahahaha!

reality hits slowly

its official. i leave manila for my new life on july 27. may ticket na ako.

im not sure if im feeling weak in the knees from shopping (for work) at tutuban all day, or coz each day the reality of things are really starting to hit me.

there are going to be a lot of "lasts" and "firsts" these coming weeks.

good day

today was quick and painless... had an early am pitch in ortigas, which i think went well. kahit na i had to gather all my powers to present in english through and through. haha. good practice for my next life in vietnam. :p

had a wonderful and relaxed lunch at cafe juanita with elaine and paolo. sarap ng food! finally got to eat there. :p its felt good to slow down and have proper lunch naman for a change.

slid into a second pitch for the day (yes, sulit na sulit ako today!)which went equally well! sincerly hope gasso gets both accounts. we put so much into our work that it really hurts when we dont get accounts.

fingers crossed for both pitches. i wont be here to see them through but if we do get it, id feel just as proud to have been part of winning them. :)

yahoo, its friday! now i look forward to spending a lot of time with my mom and my family this weekend. in between finishing my turnover reports. i have 4 working days left... this is really it!

17 days

i have a few days left and still so much to do!!!

sigh. the reality of things are slowly dawning on me.

isa isa na ata ako magpapa-alam sa mga kaibigan ko. :(

still standing

the past few days have been a blurr. a fun blurr. when i wasnt working my ass of to finish all my pending requirements and turnover reports here, i was taking advantage of every opportunity to spend time with important people.

started when mommy ems surprised us with a visit. ang payat nya grabe. pano, one full meal a day??? shucks, akala ko OJT-er si mommy ems! hahaha. quick dinner with some old gasso peeps. ang sarap marinig ulit tawa ni mommy ems... at ang mga infamous words: "taka lang" "magkaka-meron". it kinda made me miss the old gasso... and of course old gasso friends. nako, nag-sesenti na ata ako with my leaving.

july 6, saturday

woke up real early for a saturday to get ready for rap and kaye's wedding. early morning stress with stubborn hair, but all was well. really happy i got to see kris. grabe, tagal na namin di nag-uusap ng matino. kaya yun. ang aga aga, nanlalait na ako ulit. hahahaha. the wedding was great. it was sunny! considering gloomy at maulan the days before.

too bad i missed parts of the reception... :( di ko naabutan rap ni berlin. though i caught the tail end of kaye's dad's speech... and their dance.. AND RAPRAP DANCING. my goodness. that was a sight. hehe. it was one hell of a party. i was tipsy at 330pm. may araw pa. haha.

that night, di pa ako nagpa-awat. vince promised we'd go out so we spent the night at tides sa BF lang. leah and jeanina were there too. i remember thinking kung isa-isa na ba ako nag-papaalam sa mga kaibigan ko dito.

so after waking up early, i slept early too.. early in the morning.

hours awake: 20

july 7, sunday

woke up early (for a sunday) again so we could all go to the tanchoco reunion on west ave. wasnt able to eat much. guess i was tired to have an apetite.

got home in time to catch the admu-dlsu game. WUHOO, WE WON!!!

cooked an insane amount of food for dinner. good thing my sisters were willing cooks as well. sa sobrang pagod ko magluto, literally i had 2 bites of food then that was it. knock out again.

hours awake: 15 hours

july 8, monday

see, when i dont get enough sleep on weekends, especially on sundays, i feel like shit the entire week after. hahaha. ang sagwa nga pakiramdam ko. barely got work done.

met with eric over dinner... really excited about the big move. he gave me some advanced reading and i cant wait to sink my teeth into them! will have to wait for the weekend for that.

watched hancock. hmm... the twist was just about the only thing that made it interesting for me. its was an hour and a half long, and nothing barely happened.

july 9, tuesday

met up with mic, lily, pat, karlo and mike at chief's. as usual it was an unusual night. haha. i will really miss these guys. i dont think they noticed, but i teared up often during the night when id realize it would be at least 6 months before we would be able to get together like that again. then again, i can look forward to that too.

i know you guys will read this. lets not spill any unnecessary information muna. id like to keep certain details of the night between me and my closest friends for now. ;)

BBB Family Day at Manila Ocean Park

Got the email from Coach Ivan. :) Hope people can come and support the Blue Babble.

ONE BIG FIGHT!

what brain?

i knew i would end up tired today. as in. boy, was i right!

got here at 7am to make final preparations for my 8am meeting. 3 meetings and 8 hours later, my brain has officially gone AWOL.

i have 2 more hours to try and get some work done. emphasis on TRY.

Breakaway --- Kelly Clarkson

seems appropriate for the changes im about to face. pat said i shouldnt wait to be set free but rather break away.

Grew up in a small town
And when the rain would fall down
I'd just stare out my window
Dreaming of what could be
And if I'd end up happy
I would pray

Trying hard to reach out
But when I tried to speak out
Felt like no one could hear me
Wanted to belong here
But something felt so wrong here
So I'd pray
I could break away

I'll spread my wings and I'll learn how to fly.
I'll do what it takes till I touch the sky.
Make a wish, take a chance,
Make a change, and break away.
Out of the darkness and into the sun.
But I won't forget all the ones that I love.
I'll take a risk, take a chance,
Make a change, and break away

Wanna feel the warm breeze
Sleep under a palm tree
Feel the rush of the ocean
Get onboard a fast train
Travel on a jetplane
Far away
And break away

I'll spread my wings and I'll learn how to fly.
I'll do what it takes till I touch the sky.
Make a wish, take a chance,
Make a change, and break away.
Out of the darkness and into the sun.
But I won't forget all the ones that I love.
I'll take a risk, take a chance,
Make a change, and break away

Buildings with a hundred floors
Swinging with revolving doors
Maybe I don’t know where they’ll take me
Gotta keep movin on movin on
Fly away
Break away

I'll spread my wings and I'll learn how to fly.
Though it’s not easy to tell you goodbye
Take a risk, take a chance,
Make a change, and break away.
Out of the darkness and into the sun.
But I won't forget the place I come from
I gotta take a risk, take a chance,
Make a change, and break away
Breakaway
Break away

whats up???

di ko maintindihan...

bakit ginagawang malaking problema and isang bagay na hindi naman talaga problema.

bakit pilit ginagawang mahirap ang buhay, hindi naman kailangan.

bakit sa lahat ng oras na mangyari ang mga "problema", NGAYON PA?!!??!?!!

WHATS UP??? please release me, let me go...

homeless and dotted

departing from my very angry thursday, i spent the night at tricia's place to get some "stuff" done. hay. im back to being "dotted" again.. well, at least for the next 5 days or so.

today's concern is about finding a place in hcm. gosh. i really hope i find the perfect place that suits most of my qualifications!!! if im going to be alone there for quite a while, then i might as well find a place that will keep me happy. haha. baka cause pa ng lungkot ko yung tirahan ko. hahahaha.

so, if anyone knows of affordable ($500-$600) apartments in district 1, please let me know. i swear, pupuntahan ko every single vacancy if it means finding the perfect one.

5 words

sometimes i REALLY hate you.

getting there --- 32 days at most

okay. i feel much better today compared to last week's state of panic. haha. slowly but surely im getting work done and getting things ready for when i leave. i suppose i have enough time. if not, i will have to make do with the time i have.

got to go on my physical check-up this morning. timing was good coz i finished fast. although, im still in shock after being (wo)manhandled by the doctor. hahaha.

a new countdown begins. since i really dont have a ticket just yet, im counting down until the 26th of july.

when its just TOO MUCH

im quite sure my patience isnt running short over a particular client because im leaving. i have been feeling this growing sense of frustration, disappointment and disgust at how some people (no matter how nice they are) manage to take advantage of gasso. and we let them. malapit na ako dumating dun sa 'tama na, sobra na. to hell with you.'

its not a matter of amount of money but more of principle of it. we are in business afterall to make money... heck, we work our asses off and manage to smile at the end of a really sucky week because we all need to make money for ourselves. ano ba naman yung ibigay what is due... fairly proportionate for the quality and amount of work, effort, thought and passion was put into it.

hindi naman sa ATM ko didiretcho yung pera, but i care enough for gasso to feel slighted by this. hay nako. minsan nakakasuka na talaga. i think im most happy im leaving at times like this.

here's the deal

since pat has made an informal announcement already, i might as well make my official statement.

june 17, i have my resignation from GASSO after 5 colorful years. to say the decision to leave was easy is true. not because i harbor any ill feelings towards the company, but because the opportunity feels right. i could go on about all my fondest memories here at GASSO but that might just make me senti. for now it will be safe to say that i have had a LOT of firsts here. next time na yung senti post. maybe on my last day (which incidentally is GASSO's anniversary).

so where am i moving to? vietnam to work for Cowan Design, still as a senior account manager but handling south / southeast asia. starting around end of july i will be living in ho chi minh (aka saigon). yun lang. plain and simple but its the biggest decision ive made so far, and im proud of myself. :D

i have a growing list of things to do before i leave. hahaha. more updates to come for sure!!!

thak you to everyone who prayed for me... :) this would not have been possible if not for your support. i ask you please keep me in your prayers.

another pleasant surprise

as if getting my autosampler was not enough, i was able to find someone to fix/clean papa's old canon FTQL slr. YAAAAAY! natakot akong it will end up as a display piece na lang kasi the canon service center said they dont fix those anymore (BOOOOOOO!!!!). but now i get to use it because its nice and rust-free again.. AND i can buy lenses from him too. how cool. :)

im no great photographer... im still going to learn, but its good to know i have something like papa's old camera to use when im much better at taking photos. :p

lots of things to be happy about this week... more than the things not to be happy about. good week...

HOLD IT IN!!!

hay. big things happened the past few days. and i really want to write about it already. hahaha. but then ill have to wait. just a few more days before any big announcements.

nervousness

i have to write this down, or else im going to flip out. my fingers are cold.. well, so are my feet come to think of it. my heart is pounding to say the least. it feels like its beating its way out of my chest cavity. tomorrow lunch is SO DAMN FAR AWAY!

i hope things go well... that this anxiety is a sign of better things to come. please say a prayer or two for me.

the day lora became a mrs fonacier

i still cannot get over how moved i am by lora and larry's story. no matter how i try to put it into words, its really hard to explain how they have touched me. i dont know if its because ive grown more and more jaded and their relationship has reminded me that great things can and still do happen. in any case, it was a powerful event to witness.

everything was perfect in all its simplicity. balai taal looked so serene and cozy, larry looked excited but calm, and lora.. my goodness, lora... what can i say. she was stunning. i will have to admit that some brides dont look like themselves on their wedding day. they're beautiful, yes. but its like its some other person. lora was radiant... but you can still clearly see her quirky-ness shining through the beautiful bride that she was that day. :) naks. everything just felt familiar, cozy and sincere. there. that's the word i was looking for. SINCERE. i think every single guest really felt the essence of their relationship. and that's a rare thing to take away from attending a wedding.

anyway, im starting to sound looney. hahaha. to lora and larry, may you continue to inspire more people the way you have inspired me. :) im glad you guys have your happy ever after.

oh, and its was really great to see the girls again. kahit na for a time nagpaka-auti tayo sa table natin chatting away.. hahaha. we should get together more often.. and talk about C and her infamous glasses and neon socks again. hehehehehe.

its here!!!

got my all weather autosampler from lily last night and its soooooo pretty! :D

i cant wait to take it out for a spin. wuhooooo!!!

* borrowed photo from eBay

it's coming!!!

yay. my low EQ made me decide to get the autosampler through the US lomo site... deadma na difference in cost. i want to get it na now. hahaha. we're talking of a few hundred pesos difference lang naman. pwede na rin if it means ill get it the same time lily does. i might die of envy if lils gets hers first. :p

can't wait for lily to tell me it's here na. weeeeeeeeeeeeee!

konting tiis na lang...