Where were you when I needed you?

There was once a time in my life that I wanted to have you. It was when most of the people I know were having your unwanted presence. Though I really don't want you that badly, at least I thought you'll make up a good excuse for not coming to work. Ah, those times when work was so exhausting, demanding, and beating deadlines seems almost like fire fighting. Those times when I wanted to take a short rest, but getting a vacation is like hailing a cab under the pouring rain.

So I conceded the idea.

I'm not meant to have you.

For that time being, maybe.

Halloween's coming over. I'm quite excited! It's gonna be FOUR days off work. Perfect time to have a vacay. Just what I needed, wanted, and been craving for for the past weeks. My friends and I are off to that famous island. Everything has been booked -  resort, tickets. We already made plans of where to go, places to check out, food and drinks to try out and what to do in the next 3 days that we're staying there. We are really excited. Just 5 days more!

But... YOU'RE RUINING IT ALL FOR ME! 

When I woke up this morning, I felt my eyes heavy. My eyelids are getting crusty and I could barely open them. It felt like there are grains of sand inside it and it was slightly painful when I caught the streams of morning light by the window. And that's when it hit me. I know what this is!

I jolt out of bed and faced the mirror. There you are! Why now? Why ONLY now? I don't want you right now. Not this time!

AAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHH...........

SORE EYES!!!!!!!

Go away!!!!! I can't get on the plane with you. Grrrrrrr........

My new found addiction

No it's not drugs, alcohol or something health-deteriorating like that...

It's kind of an ART.

Ehem! I don't consider myself as someone who likes to indulge at something that requires superior manual dexterity. I was never good at it, but I learned that I can try and I'm enjoying it so far.

My new addiction? ORIGAMI.

That's it! The Japanese' art of making objects such as flowers, birds out of paper folding. My friend learned it from one of her ESL student. Saw her trying a couple of objects last night and I find it amazing. She's definitely a good teacher and I, on the other hand was a BRILLIANT (hahaha!) student. I learned through her impeccable patience.

So check this out.



It sure took me a lot of effort and "papers" before I've satisfactorily did it. Worth the try isn't it?

Serendipity, is it?

This story isn’t mine.

…………………………………

She has a boyfriend from across the miles. They have kept it together for four years. Her family approves of him. He was the perfect choice for her. And their wedding is set two years from now.

She sees love as practical. She doesn’t believe in butterflies, in shooting stars, in speeding rockets. She knows nothing of magic, of white knight who sweeps you off your feet. No. She’s not a believer.

Then she met someone while traveling home. They talked for hours. Shared their interests and passions in life with each other. Exchanged numbers and e-mail addresses. Soon they found themselves constantly communicating and seeing each other as often as they could. Until their friendship blossomed into something else. Something the two of them cannot deny. Something she couldn’t fight off. Something she knew she had missed all her life.

Now she’s faced with a dilemma. It could have been easier if her family’s expectation doesn’t get in the way. If their years together don’t compel her to disregard her feelings for the one she truly loved. 

But she has to make a decision. A decision that will break someone else’s heart. A decision that will change her forever.

…………………………………………

Funny how life loves to poke at my ego. This is one of those times when the common phrase “Life is unfair” becomes clearer to me. I just came from a “broken heart” and here’s my friend who’s having a difficult time choosing whom she should end up to. Hmmpp!

I was never into that kind of situation or anything closer to that. But if I am lucky (or maybe not) to face with that problem (would you consider that a problem? Seriously? If that’s the case, it’s the only problem that most women would like to have. Come on! Who doesn’t want multiple choice on their questionnaire?), I know what I’m gonna do.

First, I don’t let others dictate me on what to do or who should I be with. Coz if I do, I’m living their idea of what happiness is and not my own. I’m not saying that they don’t have a say in my personal affairs. They can meddle for as long as they want. They can voice their opinions and advices – I’d love that! I like hearing from them coz it shows how much they care for me. But in the end, I still call the shots. I will decide for myself and I will run my life the way I wanted it to be.

I always tell my friends to follow their heart. Cynics call it stupidity, but I call it bravery and being true to your self. There’s no guarantee you won’t cry in the end, but I guess it’s better to shed a tear on something you did happily. The number of years is just relative. I won’t bet my happiness and the relationship’s success on it.

Maybe I’m a fool for saying this. But what’s more foolish is when you deny yourself to something you’ve been waiting for. Whatever is real is worth fighting for. And you know it’s real when it’s hard to walk away from it.

Those Amazing Four Years...

I can still vividly remember my first day at work. I woke up so early, put on my uniform which I carefully ironed the other night, stood in front of the mirror trying to compose myself. I was so tensed and excited on my way to work. I caught the company bus, sat with my unfamiliar, new colleagues. They talked about  how their weekend went. Some talked about their pending tasks and other job-related matters which I could hardly make out. I kept roaming my eyes around, scanning their faces, looking for potential best buds.

The anxious ride ended and I found myself inside the building. Then soon introductions were made. My first hours in the morning was spent touring around the plant, familiarized every area, and the traditional meet and greet with colleagues. I saw a strong bond in everyone. Like that of family. Most of them were smiling and welcoming, while others seemed scary and intimidating. But I learned later that that was just a facade.

That was four years ago. Four years had passed and I still wore the same uniform, still rode the same bus every morning, still took the same route to work. The routines were quite the same some four years ago. But I am not the same as I was before.

I have gathered so much in my stay here in more ways than one. They say that no company is ever perfect for anyone. I've been to three different companies before, but this one is the closest to perfection. Well, at least for me. For the last four years, I can wake up in the morning and look forward to going to work. There are times that I whine and feel a little disgruntled. But when I start to count the things I enjoyed because of staying here, I feel more blessed than most of my friends are. I know a lot of people who will kill just to be part of the team. Okay, that sounds exaggerated but I swear there's some truth to it.

The strong team spirit which the founders continually to inculcate in us is one of the many things I admire. Or maybe the annual teambuilding had paid off and brought us closer together. The beauty in working with expats is that it has taught us to respect each of our culture differences. We may have different views about life and many other things, but we simply blended and work as a team to realize our vision.

I never thought I'd become socially and environmentally responsible  by joining this company. I adhere the laws in preserving nature but I'm not an advocate of any cause at present.  Yet, by simply participating in the yearly tree and mangroove planting activities, I feel like I did something imperative. I feel proud of those indulgence. It may seem small but it surely goes a long way.

I also found a lot of friends. Friends that I could keep. Friends that I would still keep in touch if later we decide to part ways. They're not just friends who I hang out and have fun with, they are those friends whom I have shared some of the most intimate details of my life. They helped me grow and helped me discover a lot of things.

                                                                             noteworthy memories...

As life is a journey, I'd be sure to keep travelling on. I know there will come a time that I will move forward and consider other options. Whenever I think of that, I begin to feel a sense of nostalgia. Probably the first thing I'm going to miss are the people I've worked with. I have learned so many things than the graduate school would impart in the span of time. I would miss the daily bus ride, the communal morning prayer and exercise, the chitchats during breaktime, the occasional late night drinks, the pressure from work which we have learnt to shrug off and laugh about as days passed. I'm gonna miss the teambuilding, the sportsfest, the birthday, halloween, christmas and anniversary parties. We're party animals. We party like 4 times a year!

Those four years had left an indelible mark. It has impacted my life more than I could hoped for and more than I've ever imagined. But more than anything else, I have taken in PRIDE like breath itself.

P-eople engagement
R-espect
I-ntegrity
D-iscipline
E-xcellence

These are the core values we live, for which I am sure I will continue to uphold.

Thank you  _ _ _ _ _! (Sorry, I just can't disclose the name of the company this time)

Happy 4 years to me...! :)

thought it was gonna be romantic... i should have stayed home instead

The badass asian, Gnetch, invited all her followers to participate in this meme :

I decided to join the fun. So here I am.

The rules are simple. By the end of this post, I'm gonna ask you guys if you wish to participate. Should you will, I'm gonna send you a question and make a post about your answer. I'm going to recommend a blog, which you haven't followed yet, for you to read. Then invite your readers too.

That simple!

Now, on to the game...

Gnetch recommended Sweta's blog, The Disappearing Caravan, which I absolutely liked.

And the million dollar question ... ???

"What's the worst date you've ever been?"

Ahem!

I've been trying to remember for days of the worst date I've ever been. I don't go on dates quite often so I was having a hard time contemplating if this story is worth sharing, OR ... if it would pass the category.

Let me tell you the story anyway.

It was Valentines day in the year 2006. My then boyfriend and I went on our very first valentines date. We were both excited that we forgot to book on a restaurant. You know how it is on Valentines Day. Couples and even non-couples swarm restaurants, theaters, parks, and malls. It's chaotic all over. But we still decided to dine at my favorite seafood restaurant, in the hope that there are still seats available.

We arrived at almost 7PM. As expected, the place was crowded with diners. NO SEATS AVAILABLE - that we were told. But we can wait. So we added ourselves on the lengthy waitlist.

Thus the long wait officially begun.

I thought it was just going to be 30-minutes or so. I stood, sat on the chair, paced back and forth, watched the diners silently as they slowly chewed their food, played with my phone for as long as my growling stomach could take. I was hungry and tired from work. The waiting area wasn't comfortable enough to distract me. HUNGRY and at the same time PISSED over the situation. The crew were starting to bring in tables and chairs placing them on any decent floor space they could make out. We could have settled in earlier but I refused when I saw that we'll be sitting near the alley and adjacent to the restrooms. Who wants to eat near the restrooms? Would you? I wasn't thinking about the "romantic" word anymore, I just want a "conducive" space and that means far, far away from the restroom.

We waited some more. We considered looking for another restaurant but the rain was starting to downpour outside. The walk to the parking lot and hopping from one restaurant to another would not compensate the fact that we have already wasted our time long enough just waiting for others to finish off.

Finally, for what seemed like eternity, dinner was served at almost 9PM. The food looked delish yet my appetite had long gone since we waited patiently on the line for 2 hours.

And I thought getting myself starve on a date is already worse! That's what I thought... Wait 'til you hear this :

Now it's pay time.

My boyfriend, errrr.... EX, left his wallet on the car. What the...???! So I ended up paying the bills. Ha! Shame on you!!!

End of story.

So guys, just tell me if you like to participate and I'll email you a question.

And.... just in case you're wondering what happened next, we broke up 2 months after.