I'm also trying to figure out where I went wrong. Drat.

It takes strength to be firm.
It takes courage to be gentle.

It takes strength to stand guard.
It takes courage to let down your guard.

It takes strength to conquer
It takes courage to surrender.

It takes strength to be certain.
It takes courage to have doubt.

It takes strength to fit in.
It takes courage to stand out.

It takes strength to feel a friend's pain.
It takes courage to feel your own pain.

It takes strength to hide feelings.
It takes courage to show them.

It takes strength to endure abuse.
It takes courage to stop it.

It takes strength to stand alone.
It takes courage to lean on another.

It takes strength to love.
It takes courage to be loved.

It takes strength to survive.
It takes courage to live.

--- Copyright © 1998 Dave Griffith
--- Submitted by Kristen C., Age 15 --- Kansas

Last minute September updates! :D I have loads.

===============

Last Saturday (September 29), one of my good friends gave birth to David Antonio Miguel D. Martinez. Naks the name, diba! So Español! I luv it! Hehehe! I haven't met him yet, but his tita just sent me his pic. He's so adorable! Can't wait to meet him. :D



===============

My good friend Kris is leaving mid Month to the US for a training in her new office. Why this is such big news to me? Well for a couple of reasons:

1. Mawawalaan ako ng "dumping" ground for a month and a half;
   
2. My "work" events seems to coincide with Kris'. And I'm actually seeing an "up" movement in my work as well;
   
3. I need to be making decisions myself, and let change take its natural course.

Congrats dude! Good luck to us!

===============

During our EO3Q meeting this morning, our boss announced that our company has already reached and exceeded last year's sales performance. A big hurrah to us. :D Pwede na kaya mag bakasyon for the last quarter? Wehehe! Ummm, I don't think so...

===============

I don't follow the UAAP saga ever since I graduated. Too bad for school spirit. But for some reason, news was all around me about this Season 70 of UAAP specifically about the La Salle-Ateneo rivalry. I started hearing about it when La Salle lost to Ateneo during the Sept. 9 games 2nd playoffs. Many of the Atenistas I met bragged about this win for a good week. It got more interesting when both teams made it to the final four, and were up against each other once again for the semis against UE (who is undefeated so far). La Salle was "twice to beat" with the first fight last Thursday. This basically means, if La Salle won, then they were up against UE. If Ateneo won, there would be another match to break the tie with La Salle.

During the Thursday fight, La Salle lost to Ateneo. A lot of chismax went on saying this was an "intended" loss, because the UAAP games (most esp. La Salle-Ateneo games) were a money making business. It made a whole lot of sense (not that I'm sulking that La Salle lost, as I mentioned, I didn't really care much for the saga). Money making, because had La Salle won during that time, then there was no tie-breaker round. With the tie breaker round, Araneta Collisium made money, ticket sales made money, the major advertisers would be endorsed for another day, and of course, the drama is better. It also helps that Ateneo and La Salle are the most popular rivals since goodness knows when. And their alumnis were major sponsors to the events. I don't know how true it is, but it made absolute sense for the players to be "bought" out so the money making guys, make more money.

Irregardless of, yesterday was the tie breaker. And after all the hoopla, La Salle will be fighting at the championship round against UE. Click on the image below for the blow-by-blow account of the explosive game.


I now look forward to rekindling my Green spirit. ANIMO LA SALLE! :D

===============

I was supposed to be looking forward to a Singapore trip this October, but it got foiled. :( Blast my darn sister. (Joke lang!)

I'm thinking of where to go for a getaway. Hmm. What do you think? I'm thinking end of the month, para long weekend. (All Saint's / Soul's Day Holiday).

===============

Ang haba ng buhok ko. :D

I'm looking forward to watching Private Practice because of this guy.



Hehehe.

Dell. Sigh.

Beware of Garbage Trucks
by David J. Pollay

How often do you let other people's nonsense change your mood? Do you let a bad driver, rude waiter, curt boss, or an insensitive employee ruin your day? Unless you're the Terminator, for an instant you're probably set back on your heels. However, the mark of a successful person is how quickly one can get back their focus on what's important.

Sixteen years ago I learned this lesson. I learned it in the back of a New York City taxi cab. Here's what happened.

I hopped in a taxi, and we took off for Grand Central Station. We were driving in the right lane when, all of a sudden, a black car jumped out of a parking space right in front of us. My taxi driver slammed on his breaks, skidded, and missed the other car's back end by just inches!

The driver of the other car, the guy who almost caused a big accident, whipped his head around and he started yelling bad words at us. My taxi driver just smiled and waved at the guy. And I mean, he was friendly.
So, I said, "Why did you just do that? This guy almost ruined your car and sent us to the hospital!"

And this is when my taxi driver told me what I now call, "The Law of the Garbage Truck."

"Many people are like garbage trucks. They run around full of garbage, full of frustration, full of anger, and full of disappointment. As their garbage piles up, they need a place to dump it. And if you let them, they'll dump it on you.

When someone wants to dump on you, don't take it personally. You just smile, wave, wish them well, and move on. You'll be happy you did."

So this was it: The "Law of the Garbage Truck." I started thinking, how often do I let Garbage Trucks run right over me? And how often do I take their garbage and spread it to other people: at work, at home, on the streets? It was that day I said, "I'm not going to do it anymore."

I began to see garbage trucks. Like in the movie "The Sixth Sense," the little boy said, "I see Dead People."

Well, now "I see Garbage Trucks." I see the load they're carrying. I see them coming to drop it off. And like my Taxi Driver, I don't make it a personal thing; I just smile, wave, wish them well, and I move on.

One of my favorite football players of all time, Walter Payton, did this every day on the football field. He would jump up as quickly as he hit the ground after being tackled.

He never dwelled on a hit. Payton was ready to make the next play his best. Good leaders know they have to be ready for their next meeting.

Good parents know that they have to welcome their children home from school with hugs and kisses. Leaders and parents know that they have to be fully present, and at their best for the people they care about.

The bottom line is that successful people do not let Garbage Trucks take over their day.

What about you? What would happen in your life, starting today, if you let more garbage trucks pass you by?

Here's my bet. You'll be happier.

Life's too short to wake up in the morning with regrets, so..
Love the people who treat you right.
Forget about the ones who don't.
Believe that everything happens for a reason.
If you get a chance, TAKE IT!
If it changes your life, LET IT!
Nobody said it would be easy...
They just promised it would be worth it!

==============

I got this forwarded email from a friend. And it was so timely. Because awareness is half the task. After that, you get to choose how you feel.

My hope for you and me? That we choose not to let the garbage in.

Surefire way for me RESIST doing an important task.

Nag.

Nag AFTER I say I have a plan of action already.
Nag when you've given me instructions 3 times already.
Tell my peers to nag me to do the task.
Just nag.

Nag.

It doesn't work with me. Instead of getting the work done, I feel that I'm not being treated as an equal. I feel that I'm not trusted to get things right.

What happens when I resist?

I either won't do the job entirely, delay doing the job, or will do it but not put my 100% thus poor result.

Bottom line. Don't nag. Just trust me.

After reading Maeyo's post on Facebook, I got inspired to create my own account and see what's the hype. And OMG, it was like a St. Mary's reunion! :D I saw many of my classmates from Dubai there, and it was so good to be updated in what's going on in their lives. It makes me feel how much we've all grown, and how, even if we were lightyears apart, we'll all still be part of each others lives. (Not much friends from Pinas, I guess we're still addicted to Friendster, hehe!)

Thanks for the comment Sharmeely and Becky. Will email you soon. :)

Another Heroes preview. :) Sigh. Lapit lapit na.

Check out this chismax about 2 of my favorite Heroes. :D



==========

Ganun lang pala kadali yun. Hehehe. Thanks Maeyo & lahat pa na nag msg about posting youtube....

This story happened a few months ago along the Tagaytay Road. There was a guy who got left behind by a pack of mountain bikers. The group was large and he didn't bring a cellphone. He crashed his bike somewhere between Picnic Grove and DBP. To make things worse, a storm came in. So he walked.

This guy was on the side of the road hitch-hiking on a very dark night in the middle of a storm. The night passed slowly and no cars went by. The storm was so strong he could hardly see a few meters ahead of him.

Suddenly, just before the junction going to Manila , he saw a car slowly looming, ghostlike, out o f the gloom. It slowly crept toward him and stopped. It was raining hard, wind blowing all around you, what would you do? Like you would, he got into the car and closed the door, then realized that there was nobody inside the car.... even in the drivers seat.

The car slowly started moving again. The guy was terrified, too scared to think of jumping out and running. The guy saw that the car was slowly approaching a sharp curve. The guy started to pray, begging for his life; he was sure the ghost car would go off the road and he would plunge to his death, when just before the curve, a hand appeared through the wind ow and turned the steering wheel, guiding the car safely around the bend.

Terrified, the guy watched the hand reappear every time they reached a curve. Finally, the guy gathered his wits and leaped from the car and ran to the nearest place where there were houses.

Wet and in shock, he went into a store and voice quavering, ordered two bottles of beer, and told the people about his horrible, supernatural experience. A silence enveloped everybody when they realized the guy was apparently sane and not drunk.

About half an hour later two guys walked into the same store.

One said to the other....... ...

"Yan! Yan yung tarantadong sumakay habang nagtutulak tayo..."

("There! There's that idiot who road in our car while we were pushing!")

My weekend high. Aaron, Rey, Jun and G-Jay. Sigh. You guys rock.

A round trip ticket costs Php28,854.00

A one way ticket (to destination) costs Php24,194.00
And another one way ticket (from destination) costs Php44,126.96

(Same airlines, same dates)

Bakit ganun?

Being happy is not when everything is alright, it's when you're alright when everything else sucks...

Happiness is a choice, not a circumstance. I'm learning to take ownership of that.

Three years back I gave the testimonial to my "anak":
"He strives to be in the background, but born to shine."

This weekend, I experienced his shining moment. As a mother I was proud. So damn proud, I cried. Who would've thought I was coaching the world's greatest?

So to Marco Abadesco, my win for the week, Congratulations!

===========

My life learning for the week:

When you can't seem to get the answers, be of service to others. And know that by being of service to others, and by assisting them in their growth, you too shall grow.

===========

I had a fantabulous week last week. Silent blogging but so much stories, lessons, learnings and new found friends. Will update soon.

“Sometimes the only way to move forward is to go back.”

============

For the past few weeks and months, I have felt "unexcellent". I was always complaining. Rant, rant, rant. Sometimes, I have something to blog about, but don't simply because I didn't want it to be another negative thought put into words, and worse, put into public knowledge. Most of this negativity resulted to poor work ethics. I'm totally guilty of it. And no, I am not proud of it.

One day, sometime after my Cebu trip, I made a conscious decision to stop the drama.

My colleagues, most especially my boss saw and felt the change and commented on it. The self motivation was my driving force, but for sure the affirmations helped. Now, though, they are more sanay to the "positive" attitude that the affirmations have stopped. Yesterday I was 15 minutes late to get to work.

============

In an effort to stay positive, I have decided to go to back. Back to the point in my life where everything was always forward moving. That had to be during my life-coaching days 2 or 3 years ago.

Last night was step one. And what a step. Here's some things I've missed to hear.

Take a deep breath. Be grounded. What are your wins? What do you commit to be? What do you choose now? What's the lesson? What have you learned? Choose your higher self. What's the value? Just trust. Accept and be open to the process. Love yourself.

And finally, the killer phrase that caught me off guard because I haven't heard it for such a long long time - "Let's white light Yev ka."

It feels surreal to be back. It's like I'm new and old at the same time. Like meeting a best friend I've lost touch with, for the first time. It's being excited, but scared; sure, but doubtful. Insecure and challenged. But seeing opportunities everywhere.

So here's to new experiences, possibly new friends, new inspirations and new lessons.

I drink to that.

I don't know how. But I wanted to share this from youtube nonetheless. :)

So if you know how to (step by step please), message me. :D

This made me laugh! Sorry kung luma na, though. Hehe!

My brother beat me to this post, but what the heck. Kasali rin ako. So here's my version of it.

=============

I think my good friend Kris, most recent bride, said it best when she said "a wedding won't be as memorable without the bloopers!" Sometimes the bigger the blooper, the funnier it is to reminisce.

Last Saturday was Kris and Harvie's Christian wedding in Orchidarium. I was part of the entourage (Cord) and my brother (who came all the way from Dubai for the weekend, specifically to attend the wedding) was the groomsman. We were already at the preps venue the night before along with the other abays. Because Kris used to be a coordinator as well (former partner in C3), she planned her wedding well. Everything was right on track. But it doesn't mean that there would be no hustle and bustle come D-Day.

And hustle and bustle it was. My assignment was to assist Kris in the preps. By 5:00pm, flowers were distributed, so were the veil, cord and matches to the SS, hair and makeup already finished with the bride, and working on the MOG and SOG (sister of groom), while the photo/video clicking away at the bride and groom's rooms respectively. All the items to be brought to Orchidarium was in one big box (marriage certificate, souvenirs, poppers, etc). I had my brother bring down the box and put in our car (designated driver for the groom). The parking was quite a walk, so he asked the porter to leave it in the lobby instead and that he'd load it when it was time to go. The wedding was to start at 6pm pa naman.

Everything else went smoothly, including the entourage/bridal march. (Although the girls ended up sitting at the right side, while the guys at the left). That was still okay. Kris marched and Perrine (Harv's sister, veil) next to me started crying. Kyle (Kris' sister, MOH) started to cry as well. I thought "So it's going to be this kind of wedding".

And stop.

It ended up not to be that kind of wedding. Instead it was full of tawa, and "oh my God!", huwhat?! moments.

Halfway through the ceremony, junior coordinator Anna came up to me asking where was the marriage certificate. And I said, oh shoot, it's still gotta be in the car. So I gave her my car key and asked her to get it. And then it hit me... did Glenn even bring the big box from the lobby? I didn't instruct him anymore. I was too busy having pictures taken with the rest of the female abays. So there we were, Kyle, Perrine, and me, looking at one another, saying to each other "Oh my GAWD!". No marriage contract!

So Glenn rushed back to the hotel but didn't make it in time. When the pastor asked for the marriage contract, Kyle went up to the couple with the "fake" contract (basically bond paper, that had the couple's name on it for them to sign on) inside a folder. And with her fantastic smile, she said, "Smile lang kayo. Wag ma stress. Tingin sa camera." Then placed the folder in front of the bewildered couple, and walked back down. So the dynamic duo opened the folder and saw the big smiley face staring at them. Reaction? They tried to stifle a laugh, and hiding the paper from the photographer who was trying to get a shot of it. That "signed thing" will be part of the couple's scrapbook for sure.

=============

And of course, it won't be a Kris & Harv wedding without being odd and truly unique. Here are some of the things that made it fly:
- Harv's best man, well, was a woman. She was in a barong and one of the most bakla person I've ever met. She was hilarious.
- Their grand entrance for the reception was John Cena's Theme (Basic Thugonomics). With matching dance number ha!
- Dancing, dancing, dancing (all fun, no tears shed).
- Oooh, the cake(s) -- okay so not unique although it was odd that they had a 3-tiered fondant cake, another one layered fondant cake, plus about 150 cupcakes.
- The crowd. Especially the IBMs and the Convergys crowd. They who hooted, whistled, joined in the fun. They definitely caused havok.
- Picture taking. Because the photog simply couldn't get people to do a "serious" pose. Each and every pose was wacky and crazy.

Haay riot. And oh so fun.

=============

To Kris and Harv. It took you ages, but finally you're there. (Literally 'after 10 years'). CONGRATS AND BEST WISHES!!!

Luvyu guys.

=============

Pics to follow.

While looking for more Heroes trailers (hindi makatiis), I chanced upon this site. Heroes Spoilers!!! Wheee!!! I don't download my own episodes (masyadong unreliable ang internet ko) so now I have to find my ever reliable friends who are as atat as I am with Heroes. Calling on Kris, Harv, Mark, Russ, Chard! Wehehe! Download na!

Oh and while I was at it, check this out.

You scored 58 Idealism, 37 Nonconformity, 25 Nerdiness

I don't want to be a chump. Congratulations, you're Matt Parkman! You're a great person: caring, hard-working, and honest. You might not have the best of luck, but you do your best in all areas of life. Your kind and responsible nature is rare, and you should be proud of it. Your best quality: Heart Your worst quality: You may take more abuse than you deserve

My test tracked 3 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender:

You scored higher than 65% on Idealism

You scored higher than 27% on Nonconformity

You scored higher than 19% on Nerdiness

It is a truth universally acknowledged that when one part of your life starts going okay, another falls spectacularly to pieces.

==========

I miss blogging. But I miss you more.

I've realized that I've totally neglected my Y&J multiply site since I created it. So now I'm trying to revive it.

Yesterday while chatting with Ate, we came up with a Caratao Family group account. So, for Canada peeps who is reading this, please sign up in Multiply so that we can share pics, stories and what nots there. Ate will provide the tutorial hahaha!


:)

Oh stop it. It's funny. Don't read between the lines.

There we go. I've met my Candiru Fish. I'm at the point of regret and I'm not liking myself right now because of it. And I know, I know, it's all my fault. It's all my bloody fault. I need to go to confession...

Aack! I want to go back to being aloof. :(

Hi kamusta? I know I haven't been able to chat with you lately, nor have I been able to leave you an email. So sorry for that. Maybe it's because I've been preoccupied with other things. Maybe because I've just been to lazy to think of what to say. For whatever the reason, I'm sorry.

Anyway, I just wanted to let you know that I'm okay. Nothing much has been happening. Besides the fact that another of my very good friend is getting married this weekend (and I'm supposed to be organizing her shower, which I haven't started).

Last week two of my staff left my wing. One resigned (moved on to greener pastures) and another was promoted as EA of my managing director. So I have one staff left. That just basically means more work until we're able to hire another staff. So, if I suddenly become absent in blogging, that would be my first reason. Don't worry, though. I'll still be able to drop a line once in a while.

Family back here has been okay. Visited Lola last week and she's doing better, although she's still pretty thin. But walking more now. I'm hoping that I don't hear any more bad news. Especially of my tweenage cousins.

How about w/ you? What's been going on? Anyway hope you don't get tired of visiting my blog. Or sending me an email. I may not write back promptly, but I will eventually. :)

Take care!

Much love,
*Y e v k a *

9pm still at office because of blogging. Or rather attempted to blog. I've started 3 different posts, and can't seem to complete any. (This would make the fourth.) So I changed my look na lang. Still girly, but not in your face na. Hahaha! Pink na pink kse yung dati! Now, it's funky. And I added widgets din. :) Thanks to Blogger Buster. Na-addict tuloy sa blogging! :D

===========

Anyway, still laying low at work, so have time to do these. For sure September is going to be a bit more packed. I need to ---
- Market CUL property and hopefully get an LOI by October at latest;
- Sell TCC property and hopefully seal a deal by October also;
- Finish off leasing remaining properties in TPT, SIA and AC; and
- Hopefully if we get the NSB account, start marketing that as well and close a lease for a floor.

(Lay low just for the sake of it, not because I have nothing to do.)

And of course, hindi lang puro work ang iisipin. Siyempre there's ---
- Kris' hen party
- Kris and Harv wedding
- Kuya coming home (kill "Emile")
- And getting ready for October... ooh I can't wait!

===========

Saw this in an "about me" section while bloghopping, but lost the site. Dang. I liked it. I want to copy it. And to say... hear, hear.

THE BLOGGER WANNABEE… I am not a writer. I am not an intelligent person. My english isn’t that good. I don’t know the ins and outs of blogging. I’m not aware of guidelines and rules that should be followed, but hey.. so what? Do I really care? I was never good at following guidelines anyway. I only believe in one thing.. I am a human being, and I have a say. And when I feel like saying something, I will. If i can’t say it in english, i will in tagalog, and vice-versa. If you find some of my posts funny, informative, and worthy of your time, THANKS. If you don’t like them, or do not approve of my views and opinions, you are always free to click the “x” mark on the top right of your browser.

===========

Just when I thought that end of August means that I have cash because of the numerous closed deals last June and July, when I got my payslip and found out that 2 accounts didn't come in! Argh. Our commission only comes out every end of the month's pay. So now, I have to wait for end of September pa! Haay! Ay eto pala number 1 reason why I haven't been motivated to work for 2 days. Another reason is because ang laki ng tax and ng deduction! Siyet!

===========

I just realized I haven't finished making kwento about Davao trip! Sheesh. That's so long overdue na! July pa yun eh! Hehehe! So gist na lang --- GO TO PEARL FARM! :D Hahaha! Para move on na ako to Cebu trip...

===========

Looking forward to the weekend!!!

They said Malu Fernandez resigned already. So what's she doing in the Aug. 27 issue of Manila Standard Today?

Gossip gossip.

================

You don't know who Malu Fernandez is?

Then again, I don't blame you. She's a nobody who wants to be a somebody by stepping on other people's toes. Totally not worth your time. Unless you are like me who got curious so I googled her and read the dirt.

"So where were you at during the murder of Juan dela Cruz?"

Okay. It's not that kind of hearing. It wasn't even a hearing. 20 minutes tops and we were done. This morning, we attended a mediation meeting. I'm unaware of the procedures, but apparently, before a case becomes a full blown case (court, judge, "do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth", etc) there's a mediation meeting between the plaintiff, the defendant, their counsels in front of a mediation officer. The sole purpose is to try to settle it there and then because a hearing takes forever.

Well, the mediation officer was not successful this time. The final report read something like back to court. No settlement made, without prejudice to either party. (I think which meant that we can settle outside if we wanted to).

============

Separate meeting afterwards with the lawyer.

"So Evelyn, are you involved and familiar with the sequence of events with this case?" Yes.

"Good. Because Monique is pregnant. You will most probably be the witness."

Boss butts in. "It's okay. I'm due Feb pa naman."

"Yes, that's when most probably the hearing will be because of the backlog of cases in Makati Regional Trial Court."

Okay. (But at the back of my head - What? Feb pa?!)

"Besides, it's always better if there are two testimonies, instead of one. So, Evelyn, don't go anywhere okay?"

(Yikes.)

============

Can I just say, that the Makati Hall of Justice looks pretty much like a public school. Gawd, they badly need a revamp. Their offices were inside classroom types. Everything was old. The windows, the doors, the hallways.

Mayor Binay, would you like me to offer you some space? But then again, they have so much backlog that they probably don't have time to think of anything else. And I don't want February 2008 to become February 2009, now do I?

============

There you go. A truth revealed - with a few errors.

What's the English translation for "nagsisisi"?

The cabbie asked me en route to my destination, and I can't seem to stop thinking about it.

========
Added: August 30, 2007

Here's another. What's English for "nauumay"?

This time my colleague asked me, and I'm still thinking about it. Grr.

Sittin' here getting nothing accomplished as usual...

Here's a teaser. More pics to follow when I get the time...

Itinerary for tomorrow.

0600 Wake Up (Good Luck)
0645 Leave for Work (Good Luck pa rin)
0815 Be in Ortigas
0830 Meeting at OSMA (If I'm late, I'm dead)
1030 Leave for airport
1130 Be at airport
1230 Leave for Cebu
1430 Arrive Cebu

I'm not prepared. And I'm running out of time. Still need to pack.


Haay. Wish me luck.

That's the sound of money being spent.

For the past few days because Egay has decided to come for a visit, we've been sent home. No work doesn't mean rest. No work means doing my long overdue personal errands and chores. So I had Henry checked. (Also because linusong ko siya sa baha the other day. I got stuck in a jam, and the water kept going higher and higher. Ayun, kahit hindi ko gusto ilusong, nalusong din sya.) You have to understand that I'm an idiot w/ cars. So I asked for a quote of what I need to fix and stuff from my mechanic. Here's what I heard. (And what I kept hearing at the back of my head).

"Ma'am you need to have your shock abs changed." Kaching.
"Um ma'm your head gasket is leaking. That needs to be changed." Kaching.
"Ma'am you need to change the pads because it's substandard." Kaching.
"We repacked the front right bearing. We need to do the same for the left front bearing." Kaching.
"That means, there's a possibility we need to replace the rotor disc." Kaching.
"Yung maingay, that's not coins, that's the bushing." Kaching.
"While you're at it, let's fix your power windows." Kaching.
"And your power lock na din." Kaching.
"And ma'am, mataas na mileage mo, malamang lalabas na mga sira ng car mo." Kaching, kaching, kaching!
"Oh ma'am. Ma'am, please don't give me the finger."

My poor Henry.

=========

I went to the dentist. And here's what doc told me.

"It seems your wisdom tooth is growing. We need to see the direction of its growth. You need to have a panoramic xray." Kaching.

Did the xray.

"We need to operate because it's not growing upright." Kaching.
"Seems you need to have another tooth fixed." Kaching.

Money being spent. Love it.

1. I'm moving to Dubai. Yep. I've decided to join my brother, his wife and their unborn baby. Later on, we plan to move to Canada together. Mas madali kse kung from Dubai we go to Canada. I'm just praying that there are some jobs I can get my hands on when I get there.
2. I'm falling for someone, not yet the "hard kind", just the "medium kind" if there's such a thing. He's funny, makes me laugh all the time, gives me attention I need, pampers me silly. Yun nga lang, I'm not sure if he's looking for a relationship right now. I don't want naman to be an in between... yung kayo, na hindi kayo, kinda thing. Kasawa na ng ganun.
   
3. I've been offered a job in Cebu. The pay is good, the benefits were reasonable tapos may accommodation pa. I'm really tempted but I don't know anyone there. It'll be work work work, kung ganon. I'll be going to Cebu next week to talk to see if we can iron out details and see din if there's a life out there waiting for me. Sana may mga gwapong Cebuano, might make the decision easier.
4. I'll be called in court by sometime mid-September to October to stand as witness. I'm shit scared. I've actually planned to resign just to get away from it. But that would be so irresponsible and unprofessional of me, now would it.
5. I'm toying with the idea to coach again this year. Life coaching played a big part of my growth, but I've been out of the loop since 2004. (3 years na pala). Last quarter of this year I plan to go back and see if I can coach again. And reconnect with generally positive people. I think I need it, especially with the goal setting that I have for 2008.
6. I've also toyed with the idea of getting a lipo. For my thighs. And my a$$. Hahaha! Vanity. I'm praying to earn big big big bucks so that I can afford it.
   

I have a "bad luck pacifier". And what I mean by that is I have a friend who happens to meet me always when I'm having a stroke of bad luck. Sometimes helps, sometimes doesn't, but at least he helped me keep my cool whenever I'm feeling malas.

The first time was when I was driving along Ayala Alabang. I felt that I had a flat because of the way the wheel turned so I pulled over. I didn't have a flat tire. I had 2. So I sat on the sidewalk, stared at my wheels, and thought "what the f** do i do now?". If that wasn't enough, it started to rain. Oh and did I mention that it was 3 in the morning?

Anyway, BLP came along to offer to drop me home after I had one of the tires changed and called for a wrecker. That was 3 years ago (I think).

The next times we met were other freak incidents, once involving getting hit by a motor cycle, another when my car key refused to turn so I couldn't drive my car (malas talaga ako). And yesterday, when I thought that the day couldn't get any worse, I decided to lock myself out of my house.

I was supposed to meet BLP for a drink in Tribu. I ended up asking him to help me break open my door instead. We didn't, kse my doors was hard to break into (good news) and my keys were "reachable" naman using a long stick and a hook through my window. Siyempre that was after a series of tries and mis-tries.

I was thinking that I've got to be the biggest klutz, but I realized, it wasn't me. It was BLP! Hahaha! Kidding kidding. But it doesn't hurt to stay away either. Wahaha! :P

Thanks din to Scheela's kuya na binalabog ko. :D

=========

Syempre di natapos ang gabi. I chatted pa with my good friend na may "boy" problem. Gosh, I'm not the perfect person to be giving out love advice. But in fairness, I was impressed by how she handled it.

Hmmm.. it seems we're growing up na.

I'm not a movie addict, so I'm not the best critic. I can't even remember if I watched the first two movies. But heck Rush Hour 3 was just hilarious. I loved the first scene with Tucker-Traffic-IPod. Riot talaga! Oh and the bloopers part din pala at the credits. Hahaha!

Watch it guys. I recommend it, even when it got way too corny (the part with the French translations, didn't like it particularly well). Oh, I did say that I'm not a movie addict, but I did get wowed by the Jackie Chan stunts. What can I say, I'm easy to please.

----------

On a tougher note, I'm being grilled at the office with some boo-boos that happened to my client's accounts. It's becoming more challenging especially with so many legal issues coming up. Need to stay away from blogging actually as this is distracting. (As if, hehehe). I just need a breather.

(Saw this from someone's blog - di ko kilala - and tagged myself. hehehe)

Each player of this game starts with 5 weird things about himself or herself. People who get tagged need to write a blog entry of their own as well as state the rule clearly. In the end, you need to tag 5 people as well and list their names. Don’t forget to let them know they’ve been tagged!)

1. I can eat KFC's gogo sandwhich meal for breakfast, lunch and dinner on any given day, and then again the next day.
2. At times when I don't have any lakad at all on a weekend, I can sleep for 18-20 hours straight (with occasional restroom break).
   
3. I like being masungit because I get to see other people's reaction to being rattled.
4. I've begged, pleaded, cried, flirted, philosophized and rattled police officers just to get away from getting a ticket - I've never paid my way out though - it's worked most of the times.
   
5. I can dose off / sleep anywhere esp. if I'm really, really tired - in class (while sitting in front during a lecture), at work (while my boss was orienting me), again at work (while waiting for a call), while traveling (bus, plane, boat, jeep, etc), in the movies (even if it was the good part), during a gimmick (even with the music blazing).
   

I'm tagging Maeyo, Loida, Chie, Danna, Scheela. :D

first it was jun
then it was jem
next it was jc
recently it was tina
followed shortly by ches

and just today, i heard that it's jess.

i'm ready to kill now... or at least do some major hair pulling.

*** August 13 update ***

Apparently someone hasn't learned her lesson! There's now a no. 2. Palo na dapat to.

Maeyo had it all. A maid to do the planning from Pinas. A maid to keep her senses in tact. And a maid to shoot the important moments and plan her shower. Can I have 3 maids on my wedding too? If yes, why stop at 3 anyway? Let's make it 4 or 5 (6, 7, 8?) Heeheehee!




Okay I'm kidding. Why am I even thinking about maids for my wedding when I haven't even decided that I want a groom (yet)? Hmm, if I have 8 maids, can I also have 8 grooms? Okay too much. 7 na lang. Hahaha!

=======

Yesterday was weird. Out of the blue, I had a guy friend who called me up (overseas) to ask me about wedding stuff. How much would it cost him to have a wedding with a 250-guest in Tagaytay, etc. He wasn't the only one. Another guy friend also overseas now, chatted with me and asked more or less the same question. Sure, I'm a target to get general information on these kinds of things because I'm a planner (to the best of my ability), but heck... nagkataon na sabay kse. And it just proves a point I was thinking about the other night. Everyone's in love except me. Okay, don't react. I'm sure you'll say I'm exaggerating and stuff. And of course I am. I'm a girl. That's what we do best.

So fine, here's an addendum to that statement. Everyone's in love... except me and Loida. Hehehe. :P (nandamay daw? I love you Poidy!)

My prince will come. Just you wait, my 8 maids.

Okay, I'll go back to being my cynic self again. (Blame this mood on the weather outside).

IRRESPONSIBLE. It's irritating, disappointing and sobrang kakainis. Grrr....

Finally it's the last day of July! :D I'm so happy (and a little sad) that it's over. So much has happened this last month to name a few:

• Mae & Ariel's wedding
• Karen & Don's wedding
• Ariel's bday party
• Davao weekend getaway
• Maui & Allan's wedding
• Mhinx bday party
• Reunions
• Parties
• Kainan

And of course, workwise:

• Closed deal w/ CLP
• Closed deal w/ GCI
• Closed deal w/ ZPI
• Closed deal w/ DIP
• Closed deal w/ PAPF

I was hoping that these closed deals would be reflected in my payslip, but unfortunately, hindi lahat naka pasok. Sigh. Sa August pa ako yayaman at babawi sa pag deplete ng account ko c/o July events. In the meantime, I am saying farewell to alot of the Dubai balikbayans who were here for the reunions. I'm gonna miss you guys. Keep in touch ha.

*Shout outs to Maeyo, Ariel, Loids, Liz, Karen, new found friendster Jinky, Dhon ni Geni (kahit di ko nakita), and Beng (kahit di nagpakita).

*Future shout outs (yung mga aalis in a couple of days) to my favorite Kuya and favorite Ate in law, Geni, Don ni Karen, Mhinx, Apple, Maui and Allan.

See you soon guys! ;) I'm so looking forward to it!

===================

If June was about meeting new people, July was about rekindling relationships of my past. I'm excited to see what August will bring...

Glenn, Scheela, Roy and I along with newly weds Karen and Don met up last night to watch The Simpsons Movie. Karen told me she wanted to watch Ouija (which I didn't want to, because I'm a scaredy cat, hehehe) so I was glad that the Scheela and co were really kids who wanted to see the Simpsons. It was such a hilarious movie! Perfect for a no-brainer night. Hehehe.

And even if I was really tired, we waited for the rest of the Pangilinan clan (Scheela's cousins) to watch Ratatouille. Back to back movie. Hehehe. Really tired, there was a part that I slept through it. But I liked it din.


Good way to end the day. :) Watch it guys. Much recommended. :D

While updating the look of my blog, I included the portion of wedding bookmarks, because I love reminiscing about past client/friends weddings. And I remembered Anna & Brian.

They were one of the first few non-friend clients who booked Yev ka & Jenne Events. (They were early bookers, though). It was a very memorable event, because it was beautiful and super fun, despite the heavy, heavy typhoon rain named Glenda (which happens to be my sister's name). Haay so many happy mems.

Today is their anniversary, which is why I remembered them. So here's a shoutout to them. Happy Anniversary you two! Stay in love always!

While bloghopping, came across Rene Gaviola's site who featured daring photographers. My favorite one is the Fear Factor - Extreme Shooting article. It made my jaw drop.

Now who of my photographer lover friends can do this? I double dare you! :D

Click on the image to see what's so special about this shot.

My question for the day: What is your reaction when someone close to your heart cut ties with you, for whatever reason?

Do you:
Try to sort it out with the other person?
Say "keber, bahala ka rin sa buhay mo"?
Cry?
Wonder, "what did I do wrong?"
Wish the other person wrong/harm/karma?
Think of what you could do to prevent it next time?
Say, "it's better this way at least there are no more arguments"?
Good riddance to bad rubbish?
Wish that the person apologizes eventually or make amends, but you yourself, won't do anything?
Talk negatively about the person to common friends?
Look for a kakampi?
Forgive, even if you don't understand?

My counter question: What would Love do?

Seems like a really relaxing place. Let's see if it lives up to my expectations...

I was not a coordinator at all for the Karen-Don wedding (specific instructions from the bride) so I was in the dark of what was going on during the preparation. (They also kicked me out during the debrief! Hahaha!). I still insisted that kasali ako sa traditional team pose with the couple. Hehehe. (less the other Evelyn, who was part of the team, and Jenn's team)



I must say, I enjoyed myself tremendously as a guest. :) No stress at all. Ibang iba ang feeling. I got to enjoy the day. Although, unfortunately inallergy ako after the bouquet toss. (Less pictures for me). Buti na lang it was a pretty long event, nakahabol pa ako sa mga kulitan pics after the wedding.


It was so much fun! But Loida tells a much better photo story. Check it out.

Congratulations to good friends Karen and Don!

After the very tiring, exciting, emotional, extremely fun, syempre stressful din, joyful weekend wedding/reunion of Mae and Ariel, and after a day of rest and catching my breath, I'm now relishing on sitting at my desk, drinking my cup of coffee and catching up on my day job.

Pics to follow. But in the meantime, check out the blogs of Mae and Loids.

Here's a run down of my favorite happenings during the weekend (in no particular order):-

• Ang ganda talaga ng Sonya's. It was absolutely beautiful.
  
• Talap talap the food of Sonya's! :D
  
• Joreine's prayer in blessing the food;
• Reunion nga - seeing most of my Dubai friends all at one time;
• During the ceremony, when Mae and Ariel said their vows (naiyak ako sobra! sobrang touched!)
  
• Galing ng priest - most impressed;
• The onsite AVP of Buddy (the videographer);
• The best man's (Toti, brother of Ariel, na sobrang kamukha nya!) speech (winner!)
• The dinner the night before (with my brother, ate in law, the coordinating team and some friends) at a bulalohan. Talap, busog, talap.
  
• It didn't rain! Saturday, the day before, it rained heavily. Cats and dogs raining kind. The wedding day, the weather was beautiful.
  

I feel that my chosen professional life (in Marketing/Sales/Events, where there's variety and expression) is a direct opposite of the Banking world. My prejudice of bankers were that they were strict, monotonous, and follows all the rules. Don't get me wrong. I feel there's a certain discipline that is followed by bankers. But heck, it definitely is not for me.

Today I spent almost 2 hours in 6 different banks were my patience was really tested. Here is a roll call on what irked me, and pleased me na din on the different banks.

• EPCI - Irked. They do not allow for non account holders to exchange foreign currencies. I just don't get the logic on this one. I also don't like the fact that their tellers were walking around in slippers(?!). As in the pambahay kind.
  
• BDO - Pleased. For once, BDO was pretty reasonable to me today although there was a pretty long line just to have money exchanged. After experiencing EPCI, I feel that BDO was pretty easy to deal w/. Not too strict on rules, which helps a lot. Their tellers just need to smile some more.
  
• EPCI - Irked. Most Definitely Irked. Went to another branch to deposit money and after 30 mins of waiting in line (ang laki laki ng banko,- pang 9 or 10 tellers, tapos 3 lang ang utilized, kaya haba haba ng pila), they told me that they don't allow more than P50K interbranch deposit w/o a charge. I don't get it. It had worse logic than my first concern w/ them. (Pwede pala ako pumila tapos deposit na lang uli ako, para it's considered as another transaction. Weird!) They also don't allow use of celphones inside the bank (which I never did understand).
  
• BPI - Pleased. Pretty fast, no worries, no pila, thank God. Efficient. I guess the best bank I transacted w/ today. Oh and very pleasant tellers. Maybe dahil walang nag aaway sa kanila sa bagal na pila.
  
• China Bank - Irked. Not naman slow, but super sungit ng teller. When it was my turn, I went to an empty teller (kakaalis lang ng isang client), sabihan ba naman ako, "hindi mo pa turn, bumalik ka sa pila, at hintayin mo na tawagin ka". I transacted w/ another teller instead, kse mapapaaway lang ako.
  
• HSBC - More Pleased than Irked. super, dooper slow tellers although no pila. On a bright note, I like the look of the branch and they have pretty staff.
  

All I can say is, thank God my office is located along the bank row and that all the banks were walking distance to each other.

It rained pala kanina. Hard. I'm glad I was already inside HSBC (which is sa baba lang ng building namin) and not walking around the different banks.

Been with Globe's Speak n Surf since first week of May 2007 pa lang. Siguro been able to use fairly okay service (not great mind you) for a total 2 weeks max before shit happens. Customer service was and still is really bad. So is the tech support. And of course the service in general. I asked for re-computation of my bill, which they eventually did (after weeks and weeks) and yet I got this. Frustrated, frustrated, frustrated.

My fault of course. I should have researched on this broadband phenomenon before signing a 1 year contract with them. I'm now stuck with bad service provider with even worse service.

Can it get any better I wonder?

- Evidence A
- Evidence B
- Evidence C

Doubt it.

You Are 40% Vain

Okay, so you're slightly vain from time to time, but you're not superficial at all.You are realistic. You know that looks matter. You just try to make them matter less.

I can't believe Loids is less vain than me. Cannot and will not.

I chanced upon my dad in chat kanina. After the basic kamustahans, I asked if he had any new pictures of my nephews. Since they were about to leave, he sent me some pics via skype. Some means 89 pictures kse wala na daw siyang time to choose which pics to show me, so he sent me all! Hehehe. Here are a few of my favorite pics.



By the way I told my favorite Ate in law about it, she said na kulit ng tatay ko and dapat gawa na lang siya multiply account. Hehehe. Actually not a bad idea... maybe I should do a Caratao family multiply account. Hmmm. Pag may time na siguro...

===========

Sitting in a coffee shop in Alabang with free wifi, my favorite cafe mocha and yosi. Now this is the way to work. :) Although signs that I need to leave:
- i've been here since 7pm
- it's past 9pm
- coffee shop is closing and my cafe mocha is almost empty
- my lighter just ran out haha
- and my battery in my laptop malapit na maubos
- dead batt na rin phone ko, kailangan mag charge
- di na as traffic as kanina kaya driving should be a breeze

Fine, fine, time to head home na, get some rest to recharge for the upcoming week.

It's the first day of July and officially the second half of the year has just started. June was very tiring, a bit disappointing, stressful pero kahit paano exciting. I'm looking forward to the coming month kse daming happening neto, specifically - AM wedding, KD wedding, GS arrival, closings, closings, closings, closure with boys (di pa kse sila men eh, boys pa lang).

Firstly, it's just 1 week to go before Maeyo's wedding. I have my MOH dress (isn't it so pretty?) already and my shoes (which are just as adorable and fits me perfectly!) . Thank you to Maeyo and Loids for having perfect taste! Just the shoes that I wanted to wear! Was able to do finish some tasks for the bride, the coordinating team, and also personally for me this weekend. Konti na lang ang mga left to do's so mejo excited na for the upcoming week. Oh and I got over the sniffles na, so feeling much, much better.