I seldom get the chance to talk to my friends and keep them up-to-date with what's going on with my life...
well, this is it. My online journal. Yah, another personal blog,just exactly what the world needs now. Let's be realistic, it's cheaper than overseas calls. Less tiring than novel-like emails.
About Me
Name: celgee Home: Philippines About Me: just read through my entries and you'll get to know me :) See my complete profile
Lately, Fergie's song has been on the top of my playlist. Aside from the fact that Milo Ventimiglia is in the music video (ok fine, that's 70% of the reason I kept on watching it over and over again... *sigh*..), I like the song - the lyrics and the melody. :)
Big Girls Don't Cry
La Da Da Da The smell of your skin lingers on me now You're probably on your flight back to your home town I need some shelter of my own protection baby To be with myself and center, clarity Peace, Serenity
I hope you know, I hope you know That this has nothing to do with you It's personal, myself and I We've got some straightenin' out to do And I'm gonna miss you like a child misses their blanket But I've got to get a move on with my life It's time to be a big girl now And big girls don't cry Don't cry Don't cry Don't cry
The path that I'm walking I must go alone I must take the baby steps 'til I'm full grown, full grown Fairytales don't always have a happy ending, do they? And I foresee the dark ahead if I stay
Like your little school mate in the school yard We'll play jacks and uno cards I'll be your best friend and you'll be mine, Valentine Yes you can hold my hand if you want to 'Cause I want to hold yours too We'll be playmates and lovers and share our secret worlds But it's time for me to go home It's getting late, dark outside I need to be with myself in center, clarity Peace, Serenity
La Da Da Da Da Da
* * * * * * * *
Highlights of my day: * Getting Jp pissed because I am late (nothing new here). Well, I said I am supposed to meet him at 6:30pm at the Cubao MRT station so we can go to St. Luke's Hospital together. I got there at 8.
* Seeing Conrado Zabella III. My bestfriend (since Grade 3) gave birth to her 1st baby at 3:30am this morning. I got a text message from her around 6:30am saying that already gave birth to healthy baby boy (6.14lbs). Congratulations Nins and Con! :) * Dinner at the Pancake House with Jp. Nothing special about dinner...Made me just reminisce about night outs with Yas. Yas and I would often eat dinner at the Pancake House during our ranting and grunting sessions. It does help to have someone listen to you... not that we can do anything about each other's problems... but I guess knowing that you're not alone and hearing that there are people having (trivial and not-so-trivial) problems is comforting (not that I should be happy about it), but more of a realization that sh*t does happen. ;)
I went shopping today for books. It's the time of the year to buy books - aside from the fact that I like reading and I already ran out books to read, the fiscal year is about to end and I'd have to use my Personal Development Fund. :) There are still a lot of books in my shopping list, but unfortunately, these are the only ones that I could fit in the 5K budget given to us. :)
We had a small party at home. Nothing extravagant, just a get-together with relatives from the compound, my cousins and old friends. My aunts were busy preparing the food that will be served in the afternoon -- and if you'd look outside our window, it's like a typical barrio fiesta where people would cook together-- chopping vegetables, preparing the noodles for the pancit, wrapping the ground beef with lumpia wrappers. It looked fun. Sad to say, I was just a spectator. My task was to take care of my nephews while their moms were helping out in the preparations. :)
Jp and I watched The Simpsons Movie the other day. Nothing too great to tell about the movie - Homer is still his usual self, and it does get boring sometimes since he is already sooo predictable. Oh, well. I'm not really a big Simpsons fan, but I got inspired by Giff's blog entry last Monday to try out the simpsonizer.
For several times this week, I have received meeting notice updates from one of the managers in our capability. The date and time kept on changing, and we finally got the email reminder today that it will be for tomorrow, 11am - 2pm.
Wow! 3hrs. I wonder why it has to be that long. Maybe there are lots of things to discuss? Hmmm... I am pretty sure attrition would be at the top of the list.
attrition [uh-trish-uh n] – noun 1. a reduction or decrease in numbers, size, or strength: Our club has had a high rate of attrition because so many members have moved away. 2. a wearing down or weakening of resistance, esp. as a result of continuous pressure or harassment: The enemy surrounded the town and conducted a war of attrition. 3. a gradual reduction in work force without firing of personnel, as when workers resign or retire and are not replaced. 4. the act of rubbing against something; friction. 5. a wearing down or away by friction; abrasion. 6. Theology. imperfect contrition. See under CONTRITION (def. 2).
In the best of worlds, people would love their jobs, like their co-workers, work hard for their employers, get paid well for their work, have ample chances for career growth , and flexible schedules so they could attend to personal or family needs when necessary. AND NEVER LEAVE.
But then there's the real world. And in the REAL world, employees, do leave, either because they want more money, hate the working conditions, hate their coworkers, want a change, or because they get a dream job in another company or country.
There are a lot of people jumping ship, and I guess it's not really limited to a certain capability, or project or company. People will have their own reasons, priorities and future plans, and there isn't really a lot that people can do to stop them from leaving. Some might argue about the ranking of the priorities, exceptions and their formulas for defining what can make them happy at work. Hmm... Makes me wonder, what could be the formula for happiness?
Health + Social Life + Money + Achievements = Happiness?
It looks simple. But it isn’t. Why? Because that is just the first level...you can expound each factor up to the nth level...For example,
Health = Sleep + Exercise + Balanced Diet
Sleep = Technique + Schedule
Schedule = 8hrs of sleep on weekdays + 10hrs of sleep on weekends
The formula can go on and on...
So, What am I trying to say? It’s far too complicated to understand each person's priorities and definition of happiness. I am not saying that it won’t be worth it to try and talk about these things,but all I am saying is that I hope they are ready about it, and that they won’t be like government officials who always end up promising a lot of things during the campaign period but not really doing anything on their plans. ;)
A picture tells a thousand words... so I'll just let it speak for what happened during the weekend. :) I guess I don't need to expound on why everyone's happy. :)
I was looking for a document in my bin, when I found a print out of the brainworks quiz result that I took in 2005.
I took the Brainworks quiz as part of an exercise in our weekly team meeting with our US teammates. Our US TL requested that all of us take the quiz and place the results in a spreadsheet which we all reviewed in one of the calls we had. It was helpful because we did get a picture (I don't expect the results to be a 100% accurate) of each others learning/thinking style. Some more analytical, more creative.. Some prefer visual presentations, a combination of audio and visual...
It's been a while and I was curious to see how my Brain works now. So I decided to take the online quiz:
Cel's Brain Usage Profile Auditory : 35% Visual : 64% Left : 68% Right : 31%
And what does this mean? Here's the summary -- I actually agree with some of the things mentioned in the results :) "Your left-hemisphere dominance implies that your learning style is organized and structured, detail oriented and logical. Your visual preference, though, has you seeking stimulation and multiple data. Such an outlook can overwhelm structure and logic and create an almost continuous state of uncertainty and agitation. You may well suffer a feeling of continually trying to "catch up" with yourself."
And the last line is soo true... You can "see where you want to go" and even be able to "tell yourself," but find that you are "fighting yourself" at the darndest times.
My appointment at the German Embassy was at 9:45am. I got to the RCBC building at 9am, and had breakfast at Delifrance while waiting for Walter (from RAJAH). I went up to the 25th Floor and left my cellphone with the PNP. :)
I already expected that even if I get there at 9:45am, I would still end up waiting. The duration of each interview varies depending on the purpose and if they would require additional information about the visa being requested. Most of the time I would just listen to the people being interviewed... fiancees, married couples, businessmen, workers. I was rummaging through the documents I have in my packet, when interviewer called out for the next interviewee - "Rico Blanco, Counter 3 please". I was thinking - Nice name. He has the same name as the ex-lead vocalist for the band RiverMaya. I looked up, and there he is.. Rico Blanco. The real Rico Blanco. Ok, being the snoop-dog that I am, I tried to listen to the reason why he is going to Germany. All I heard was that he's going there to visit a friend in August. :)
After his interview, he still stayed in the waiting area for his name to be called out for the visa payment. I was trying hard not to look at him, pretending that I don't give a damn. I am no Rico-Blanco fanatic, but I did get starstruck. He later on transferred to the seat next to me, well, because I was seated right in front of counter 1. No other special reason, sad to say. :) My mind has been travelling far and beyond, and at some point, I was thinking about the song "You'll be safe here" by River Maya. I caught myself humming the first two lines of the song when I remembered that Rico is just beside me. Whew. Good thing he didn't hear me. I hope. :)
Don Bosco Church, Makati. 11am. Adam Nathan Florentino's Baptismal.
Oscar flew from Singapore to Manila last night for his son's baptismal. Jp and I have been chosen to be Adam's godparents. I have been looking forward to this day - not only because I'll get to see old friends, but also because I'd be getting my new camera today. :) Oscar already charged the batt of my camera and I immediately started taking pictures as soon as I got it. :)
Some of our classmates from college later joined us for lunch at Cabalen in Robinson's Place, Ermita -
Allan and his gf, Rhia (whom Jp inadvertently calls Abi -- that's the name of Allan's ex-gf),
Johnston (my best bud from college), Mark and Meryll
and Jay. What the story behind the solo picture? :) Hmmm, Jay just requested that I introduce him to my gal pals. :) Jay plays drums and he mentioned that they'll have a gig soon - I am still waiting for the details though. Let's see... mini-mini-mi-ni-moo... who-among-my-friends-should-i-introduce-to-Jay? Am I going to pull another cupid mission? Hmmm...
I hope next time the rest of the gang would be able to join us -- Oscar will be coming back on the 1st week of August. Gil will be flying home from Chicago on July 23. Adrian, Rose, Ethel and Renor already had prior comitments, and hopefully they can join us in August. :)
Our team is currently ramping down, and sad to say by next week.. it'll just be us girls - Grace, Anna, An and myself. I guess this is how it feels to live in Big Brother's house. It's like for a moment all I can see is my housemates. My teammates. My home away from home. But just like the Big Brother house, even if people get evicted (sorry for the term), they'd still be able to see each other outside the house, and eventually everyone will be out. ;)
Some people already gave out a name for the team, F4, and in case we'd need to do a presentation, we already have a movie theme - Fantastic 4: Rise of the Siebel Server hehehe. (Last year we used LOTR - Lords of the Release: The return of R2)
Anyway, going back to my main topic, this night is for Blue and Christian. The team had dinner at Dome in the Shangri-La mall. It was a nice evening of funny stories and memories from the releases. And of course, a get-together will never be complete without pictures. :)
For the past days, my cellphone had been pretty quiet. Jp and I haven't talked for 3 days because of a discussion which I started wednesday evening. Same old story. Usual topic we'd debate about.
During those three days, I felt like torturing myself and tried to search for "senti"-songs in my iPod, only to realize that do I not have a lot. I can't recall when I last sulked in a corner, and tormented myself with some heartbreak songs. For some weird reason, I missed moments like these – not that I want to dwell in this feeling of solitude, but it’s been years since I had felt this. Well, I guess it was different then – before it was more for unrequited love (hehe), dealing with lost love or how to move on. Thanks to Limewire, I was able to divert some of my time in downloading mp3s, instead of just moping in my bed.
Anyway, the gloomy days are over. :) Jp and I have patched things up and I am done moping. Not that all of the issues or discussions we've been having are already closed, but at least we had an understanding of where our relationship would be heading. There will definitely be a lot waiting involved and for now, all we can do is support each other until we're both ready for the next big step.
*Wala lang...
My current fave song:
Trivia: Every night, before I go to sleep, I would put on my earphones, set the sleep time in my iPod to 30minutes, go to Limewire Faves playlist and "When you're gone" is the 1st song I'd always play. :)
Justin is sooo cute. Their family has a small sari-sari store, and everytime his cousins would attempt to get something or pretend to get stuff without paying, he would call his mom or say "Bayad!". :)
This morning his dad (Kuya Lito) was working on a wooden chair. He told Justin to say away from the nails and hammer. Justin just watched his dad work and kept on asking "Ano yan?".
His dad handed over the hammer to his brother, Paul (He's about 14yrs old) to return it to the toolbox. Paul took the hammer and teased Justin by acting as if he's going to pound him with a hammer. Justin just turned to his brother and said...
Justin: "Pako ba ako?" ("Am I a nail?")
I couldn't help but laugh when I heard that. :) Smart kid.
Justin is 2 yrs and 10 months old. He is the son of my cousin (mother's side) - making me his aunt and I am also his godmother.
Early this morning I got a text message from one of my bestfriends. I am amazed at her instinct and the timing of her message. She rarely sends early morning greetings and this time she asked if I am busy and how things are between me and Jp. Hmmm...
When I got to the MRT, I read my copy of Libre and then continued texting Nins. My messages were quite long, well, I think each reply I sent had 300-360 characters. I was so into texting that when I looked out the train’s window, I saw the Pasig River and when I looked up I saw that the train is already approaching the Guadalupe Complex. Waaaaahh.. I missed the Boni station. I have always imagined myself falling asleep in the MRT and missing the station where I am supposed to get off. I have never thought I would miss it this way. I got off the Buendia station and took the train heading north... after 2 stops, I finally got off the correct station. When I reached my cube, the first thing I did was share my funny story with Anna...that way I'd have someone to laugh with me. ;)
Usually when I get home I would still go online. It has already been part of my daily routine.
Friendster. Gmail. Blogger.
Today, I decided to login to my YM. Talked to Pat for a while. He's leaving this Saturday for Virginia for a 2-month onshore assignment. :) Ingat ka dun, Pat.
I then saw Oscar go online. He is back in Singapore. He was in Manila last April 3 - June 23, and we weren't even able to meet up in a gimik or gathering. Well, there was one reunion-type gimik held at Jp's place last May, but I missed it, as I was in Germany at that time. Oscar was my seatmate back in college and one my friends whom I'd talk to for several hours on the phone. We were table to chat or should I say talk in YM... we talked about a lot things. From his son Adam, married life, our classmates in college to gadgets. Speaking of gadaget, most electronic equipments are cheaper in Singapore compared to Manila, and I am soooo lucky that Oscar is going back to Manila on July 14-15 for Adam's baptismal and he will be able to bring home the camera that I have requested him to buy. I'll be having my Sony Cybershot soon!!! I requested for a black one, I hope there is one available. ;)
