2009 in a nutshell

2009 is such a memorable year for me. I would like to say it could have given me some reasons to smile but I would believe it is the most painful year for me.

Happiness in the forms of:

-> Travel, I have a few roadtrips and long vacation including my first business trip in the US
-> I've learned how to drive a "matic" car the hard way and was able to go back to SFO without getting caught
-> This is my last semester in UP Diliman. I hope that I will graduate on time
-> I've got a new camera body and a bunch of new lenses. I've sold my old gear to gain back some of the funds as well
-> I've got a very high running mileage this year. Been active with running since I got back from the US to lose a few pounds but eventually it became a passion! From 5K -> 10K -> 21K -> 32K, wow! It's been a very productive running year
-> New friends and groups: Active again with RACE barkada and Takbo.ph. :D
-> Got a new car which replaced my old Rev-O. Loving every day with my new ride (Zoom-zoom!):D
-> Mickey's new pups which brought some new joy here at home

But there are a lot of pains this year:

-> Ondoy and Pepeng wreaked havoc in Luzon. A significant number of people lost their homes and loved ones because of the onslaught it brought
-> Work-related stuff. Changes which shattered my morale and to think twice if I will be pursuing my career in my current work
-> A lot of personal issues with a few folks due to my stubborness and arrogance. Tried saving a couple of folks but I didn't get any thanks in return. Sorry guys for being like this, I'll try to minimize it in the next year
-> Opening up the shell and lowering down the shield to expose the reality inside. It hurts when it is often misinterpreted and I believe this is where Karma sinks in.
-> A big number of frustrations which builds-up and waiting to explode. I really hate the feeling that almost every week in the last few months that I have some new issues or problems which I have to face alone. What makes me sick is they are not related to me but I need to do something to fix them all

I wouldn't say I hate 2009 but I would like to thank it for the important lessons it taught me and let me grow as a person. I'm looking forward to what 2010 has in-store for me but I hope it will help me recover from the year which was 2009.

Happy new year everyone!

Amador Daguio

During our trip in Pinatubo last Saturday, we had a side-trip to the Capas Shrine. The huge needle surrounded by marble walls was truly an eye-candy for anybody who went there. The walls bear the name of all those patriots and veteran who marched from Bataan to Capas, Tarlac during the war.

But what struck me most was a line of a poem from Amador Daguio at the end of one of the walls. It says:

"And when the world shall wake again, from the grim decay to growth and beauty, let no one know my pain, but i have done my humble duty..."

Wow! This was one of those things that struck me by the heart; I easily connected with the message it was trying to relay.

Now I'm a fan of Amador. I'll search more of his poems and put it here in my blog.

One on one

Had a one-on-one session with my mentor today in Starbucks. I just want to release this disappointment which is lingering in my chest since that announcement. Was it good? I think so as now I have a bigger idea on how such decisions were made plus a few more inputs to help clear the topic. It was hard and bottomline is the final decision will be with me alone which I agree.

Thanks Marc for being patient with my angst and doing your best to explain the current scenario we have in our company. I have learned a lot; I will use this info to explain to other folks as well to understand such decisions.

Post-Corregidor Report

One of the most fantastic run I had this year. Very tough course, lovely weather and breath-taking scenery would make this run a worthwhile to remember.

Kudos to the organizers for this race!

Corregidor fun!

I'm excited for my trip tomorrow! It's my first time to be in Corregidor and I'm going to enjoy every part of it :). Together with the takbo.ph folks and one of my hs buddies, I would be running 10 miles of rugged terrain.

What excites me more is the thrill of somebody wishing me luck for this run. I hope that I can get a good PR tomorrow minus the freaking cramps and haggard slowdowns.

See you tomorrow at the rock!

Long Weekend

Minus the ka-eklatan of support stuff today, it was a fairly nice weekend. 3 freakin' escalations closed on the nick of time because of my team's dedication and collaboration made me a very stressed guy towards the end of last week. I did some progress for my TM 299 project, created a more sensible outline and camped out in the TMC library.

I deserve to have a long vacation after this...

Good news!

Not! 2 years straight is really really painful and impacts our morale. Where are all the support that we getting after the hard work that we were able to deliver?

Once is painful, Twice will really kill you... I don't want to say this but shattering our momentum will really fire back at you.

Too depressed right now to discuss. I want to rant but I can't freaking think right now.

Time for plan B

My screwed-up body clock

Since I moved to my current work, my body-clock was really messed-up. Being global does have a price and I don't know how much damage it did to my body. Well, I can still run at 5 am in the morning even without sleep but when I read the article sent by my former officemate, I think I need to think twice (not enough sleep = increase in the possibility of having a heart attack).

Well, I'm a nocturnal person and I'm more productive at night. But thinking about that article really changed my mind about my sleeping habits.

I need to do something soon... :(

Thesis Series (Part 1)

As I've said, this quarter is very bloody for me as I need (1) to finish my studies and (2) expand my work responsibilities. I'll start discussing about (1) as it is really quite exciting and challenging at the same time.

I have changed my thesis topic thrice already this week and it's not really fun. Why? Because each topic, I have to create a long proposal and have it approved by my adviser. I've been literally a zombie by staying until wee hours of the morning drafting and preparing for my proposal. All of these while I have a training in the morning (kamusta naman di ba?).

Oh well, I have to accept this as it is my first step to freedom. Can't wait for March 2010!

Vacation after-math

It's been days since I've last posted here (and I promised myself that I will be posting DAILY). Anyway. I've been busy with a few stuff lately in both work and school. But why should I be ranting about them when my topic is about vacation in the wonderful land of Boracay?

It's really not as exciting as its used to be because I've been in that island for 4x already. Yeah, 3x last year will really took all of the excitement away but that didn't prevent me from returning. Why? Bora has the most wonderful beach in all of the beaches that I had visited. White powdery sand, crystal-clear water, excellent weather and a lot of activities are just a few things that I really miss about that place. Plus an array of cool companions sparked at least some excitement towards the trip.

As a summary, here's what I love about the trip:

- HS barkada -> sa lahat ng kalokohan natin, mga pre dito ako talaga saludo
- New Friends -> Linus made a few friends in the island. A few bottle of red horse and gilbey's premium made it possible. Plus the friends of Karel who really love to party
- Weather -> It's been raining cats and dogs here in Manila but our prayers have been answered to clear the sky away. Very lovely blue sky with just the right amount of sea breeze. Heat is tolerable since the christmas season is just around the corner.
- Food trip -> When you're with Enton, you will never get hungry! From the buffet of oysters (oo, sangkatutak na talaba) up to the the sober-up serving of balut, it will really satisfy your cravings
- Photo-whoring moments -> minsan ka lang mapunta ng bora, take the picture like a lolang bakla (nyahahahahaha). Seriously, photos are really abundant all through the trip
- Manong guide -> very good rates for the activities I've lined-up for my friends. And a walking travel encyclopedia as well. (if you're going to bora, I recommend that you hook up with him for your activities. Just let me know and I'll post his number here :) )
- Sunset - Of course,the legendary sunset at the beach. Never leave the island without the majestic shot

As for the downsides:

Zest-air -> hassle-hassle-hassle-hassle-hassle-hassle-hassle-hassle-hassle-hassle-hassle-hassle-hassle-hassle-hassle-hassle-hassle-hassle-hassle-hassle-hassle-hassle-hassle!!!!!!!!!! They re-booked our flight too frequently and in a very uncomfortable schedule. Damn it, we arrived at 4 pm in the afternoon and almost missed the beautiful sunset. Don't be fooled by the low rates as it is really-really-really not good. The returning flight is also a freaking hassle as we arrived at the airport 4 hours before the flight as we were hoping to buy some stuff in Kalibo. Damn it, the van arrived at exactly 2 hours before the freaking flight; when we got to the airport, it was already boarding time :(

Work -> wee hours in the morning with a freaking escalation. I didn't bring my laptop but still work is hounding me like my leg is bounded by a long ball and chain. Thanks to my team who helped though, you're the best!

I think that's probably it for my 5th time in Boracay. No excitement but surely it was a very memorable moment for me :). Pictures are still not available as I haven't even edited them yet but I'll try to do my uploads by tomorrow.

A 6th time in the island? Yep, I'll definitely go for it :)

Pre-vacation eklat

Tomorrow I will be on official vacation till this Sunday to a great place somewhere in the middle of the Philippines. And yes, I won't bring my laptop with me (I got all of my bases covered in work, bigyan ko sila ng pasalubong when I get back).

Hopefully, I won't be paged for any escalations or issues during my short vacation (Lord, I've been good this year, please lang hwag niyo naman lagyan ako ng sakit ng ulo sa aking munting bakasyon).

By the way, I officially hate Zest-Air for moving our flight in a short notice!!!

See you after 3 days! (I'll post the pictures once I'm back) :)

A new name doesn't mean anything

A lot of companies/products nowadays are switching to a new name. What's the reason? Probably to re-package their services into a new persona and get a piece of the market.

BUT (yes there is a big BUT) they forgot to improve their own service/product. Changing your brand name doesn't mean it magically removes the flaws and issues of the same product. For example, Smart changed it's broadband brand into Smart bro probably to hide or shadow the flunks it got when they initially offered the service. Did it made any difference? Well, yes it does in the eyes of a common individual who never tried it before but still has the same cranky and lousy service. In-fairness, they had a significant improvement in-terms of the service but still it can't remove the previous performance or experience of those who used it before.

Why am I writing this? BECAUSE DARN ZEST-AIR GAVE AN ADVISORY A DAY BEFORE MY FLIGHT THAT IT IS MOVED TO A MUCH LATER TIME!!! I don't know, I thought moving to a new brand name will remove the very lousy service we experienced from Asian Spirit before but alas, all of the changes are more into the outside image only. It's like painting a freaking old car instead of changing its engine parts to improve the performance.

I'm really disappointed as I'm looking forward for this vacation and yet, a lousy service messed it up already. I hope it will not get worst... (positive thoughts insert here :( )

Ang beerbash (bow!)

Since walang beerbash si etspi, we agreed to have a small version of the beerbash with our group in Trelli's. Di makukumpleto ang FY kung wala ang beer (kahit maliit lang sa population namin ang umiinom).

It was a chance to get-to-know the new hires, get-away from the stress of work and have a good time kahit sa maliit na paraan. I did enjoy the beer, food, stories and laughter (hay naku, ang mga hirit!!!) :). Mas masaya kasi sagot ni papa Jonjon ang majority ng gastos! (I did give a small part as well as I promised)

Wala man beerbash, may G-Web party naman! Nyahahahahahaha!

Ang alamat ng enrollment sa Peyups

Ngayon ko naintindihan uli ang joke na UP = University of Pila! Kung kailan last sem ko na tsaka pa talaga nangyari :(.

Scenario: Bayaran sa OUR
Characters: Ako (bida)
Katabing chick (leading lady)
Mga peyups student (mga dakilang extra)

Scene 1: 11:00 am -> sa pag-aakalang mabilis lang ang pilahan sa bayaran ng OUR, dun ko binalak bayaran ang aking matrikula. Salamat sa BPI (langya kayo, lahat ng ATM niyo offline kahapon!) at hindi ako nakapagbayad agad nung unang araw ko sa enrollment.

Pagdating sa OUR, nagtanong kung saan ang pila ng bayaran. Turo naman si leading lady sa pilang pagka-haba-haba. Take note, talagang mahaba siya kasi pati 2nd floor ng OUR umabot siya at pumalibot pa! Anak ng pating, mapapasubo ata ako :(

11:15 am -> Naisipan kong nandito na rin ako kaya pinuntahan ko na ang dulo ng pila at "pumila". Ayos lang kasi may matching upuan naman at hindi nakakangalay maghintay. May electric fan din pala na nakakalat sa lugar ng pilahan kaya di rin mainitan. Nakausap ko pa uli si leading lady habang nasa pila at nagtanong ng ilang bagay-bagay tungkol sa buhay niya (ang conversation sa susunod na post ko).

12:00 pm -> Inabot ko ang dulo ng 2nd floor na pila. Take note, dulo ng pila papuntang first floor para sa part two ng pilahan blues ko sa enrollment. Di mo maiwasan din na makinig sa hagikgikan at usapan ng ilang estudyante habang nabuburyong ka na sa kakahintay sa pila (nalaman ko ang isa dun ay graduating na pero di sigurado kung kaya pang suportahan ng pamilya ang kaniyang pag-aaral :( )

12:30 pm -> Nababaliw na ko sa kakahintay. Deliryo na ata sa banas ng mga nangyayari kasi sobrang bagal. Pero parang may naghimala at bumilis uli ang galaw niya pagtapos ng 5 minuto! Balik na uli ang ngiti sa mukha ko

12:45 pm -> Anak ng pating bumagal na naman. Isang tawagan na lang at nandun na ko sa loob. Pero no, masama ang tadhana. Ayaw ata talaga ko patapusin sa del.... sabay pinapasok nila kami! Yeh...

12:50 pm -> Banas, magsasaya na sana ko ng makita ko kung ano nangyayari sa loob. Naka-break ang tatlo sa apat na kahera at naging sanhi ng pagbagal ng pila. Sayang ang binandera nila sa labas na "Walang lunch break" daw ang bayaran. Hay....

1:00 pm -> Natapos ang aking paghihirap. Ito na ang simula ng aking huling semestre sa UP....

:D

November 2 = boring day

Bored. Oo, bored ako ngayon. Ewan ko ba, nasanay siguro akong nakikipaghabulan sa deadlines, nakikipag-away at nagtrabaho hanggang sa madaling araw. Ngayong walang magawa, bored naman ako.

This is absolutely outrageous. I should be enjoying this day na walang gaanong ginagawa kasi pagbalik ko sa opisina, balik na naman ako sa routine ng buhay ko. Syet...

Oo nga pala, enrollment na naman. Last semester na (yehey!!!) at sana makatapos na ko. But wait, thesis sem na pala ito so sakit na naman sa ulo. Mukhang kakainin ko na naman ang salitang "bored" next month.

I should really be enjoying this day. Takbo na nga lang muna ko sa UP...