The month that was... January.

Song of the Moment: Grand Opening by Will Dailey

After writing my 2008 round-up, I quickly realized that I let certain months pass without much activity. Needless to say, I was a bit disappointed with myself. I mean, come on. I’m twenty-five. I’m young. I’m not yet married. I’m financially free. Now is the best time to do the many things I never thought I could do. 

Looking back at 2008, I sincerely wanted to boast of a specific achievement per month, to say that I didn’t put the twelve months to waste. The 2008 Round-up wasn’t at par with how I envisioned 2008 to be. Thus, I promised myself that I would consciously make each month more memorable --- more dynamic --- by forcing myself to list exceptional things done or experienced or participated in during the month. I’m not really sure how long this little experiment will last, but for now, I’m glad I lived up to my expectations for the month of January.   

1. Two new contracts for TAWI: La Farge and Asia Cargo Container Terminals. Shifting to a new product in TAWI really boosted our confidence in sales activities, but surprisingly, the contracts we closed for January were not for the new products. They were customized, as we have always intended to sell, and it was a blessing to have discovered these clients when we thought the industry was ailing. I’d like to credit part of it to luck, and it was just a matter of taking advantage of opportunities while they’re there.    
2. First EasyHomes Client: Acer Homes.  The management team rejoiced, opened a bottle of red wine and took posterity photos after the first contract for EasyHomes was signed. The company has been struggling with self-esteem issues and looooong sessions of product development; we’re not really sure how the market will react to the product. But at the end, the project went full swing and we’re finally at war.
3. Zen Meditation. I’ve been wanting to practice meditation since I took Jim Paredes’ creativity class. Back then, I felt the need to find an activity that will ground me and bring me back to my center amidst the hustle-bustle of life. At the start of the year, I did just that. I went out and finally took the Glimpse course. I wanted to do it for several reasons: to be more focused, to have peace of mind, to be more resilient and ultimately, to harness my lost creativity by allowing my mind to be more powerful. I’m eager to attend the next sessions (this February); I know this will help me get through the day to day.
4. First Batch General Assembly at Starbucks Silver City. It was nice to see familiar faces, and have the chance to get more feedback from people regarding the batch reunion. It was a rough start, but at least we’re getting somewhere. I can't wait for the reunion to come to fruition in its full awesome glory. 
5. Turned 25! Woah. My sensibilities plummeted to grave realizations --- I actually felt old that day. But no worries. I’d like to think that having turned 25 years is a good excuse.. erm, cue to be the best version of myself, now that I’m becoming more and more unbridled. I really feel like I’m at the best stage of my life. :)

I’m very happy with how January turned out. It was productive enough without having to sacrifice my need to socialize. I was able to achieve a good balance between work and play. Yay! 

Here’s to hoping more months like this will unfold.

 

The Table Napkin Wager

Song of the Moment: Mausam and Escape by A.R. Rahman (Slumdog Millionaire OST)

Some random evening in 2008, the girls were at Dome Cafe in Shangri-La, sipping coffee and tea and eating stale, free cake from Cravings. It could have been a typical get together, but something came to fruition that night.

It was the evening of the table napkin wager.

You know you're getting older when the topics you talk about over meals become more, well, mature. In our case, we noticed that our discussions gradually grew up from "which college will I get into?" to "I'm taking up BS Extracurriculars with a Minor in Management/Economics" to "what company should I work for?" and now, "who'll get married or get pregnant first?" And so began the humor behind the table napkin.

We took an unassuming sheet of Dome table napkin and scribbled down our speculations for the race to adulthood. It was simple. We each put our money on a person in the group who would most likely:

a) Get married first. (Excluding the one person who already got married in the US)

b) Get pregnant first.

We had every person sign off her stake and are now still awaiting results. The buy-in wasn't too big though, at PhP100 per person, but it was fun to actually gamble on something and pretend that the total pot was enough to finance that person's  bridal shower or baby shower. 

Since then, there have been playful banters of "My money's still on you!" as if PhP100 will amount to much these days. 

As the months passed and the table napkin remains unscarred in my wallet, more and more people from our circles got pregnant, got hitched, started a family. I can name so many high school batchmates whom I've discovered in shock as ladies who apparently have a higher propensity to settle down than any one of us in the barkada. They used to be the most rowdy ones, the most playful ones, the rather "tomboy-ish" ones, the wild children, and even the quiet ones. And now they're starting a family faster than I can say "I think I'm ready to take the next step." As it has been seen the past months, there isn't a clear winner among the contenders of the table napkin yet. (It's true, Rina! Hehehe.) And my lingering question is: "What makes one truly ready to move on?"

 

2009 is at hand. This same group of jocular (but secretly desperate!) girls decided to push each other to personal objectives of every kind, with the predominant goal "Have a love life this year." I feel lucky enough that I have one to begin with, and I'm truly overjoyed with what I have. But am I really ready to take that next step? Is it the right time? There are still some questions that I have yet to ask, and answer.  

I'm writing this as I near my 25th birthday. Imagine that. I've been walking this earth for 25 years. I've stopped calling it a quarter-life crisis, because it's a little over one fourth of my intended life already. But there are still introspective questions... there will always be questions. I may be beginning to imagine a more definite life, with definite long-term goals and a definite person holding my hand. But as far as I'm concerned, things can still change this year. 

For now, I think I'll sit back and watch one Facebook status after another change from single to engaged/married, wondering if I can muster enough guts to go beyond the lip service and actually take that plunge....

The 2008 Round-up

Song of the Moment: Take Me to the Riot by Stars

I just got home from another Christmas tradition for the family --- Christmas abroad. It is a tradition I cannot to continue with my family (initially I think?) because of the financial requirement, so I'm taking advantage of every opportunity I get to be a global trotter while I'm still single. So I'd like to particularly thank my parents for every chance they gave me to travel --- that I may experience global sensibilities, cultures and histories beyond what a normal person would experience. 

But aren't we all travelers just the same?

I remember when I graduated from Grade 7, I gave the welcome speech slash salutatory speech. I started with this sentence: "I am traveler with an undetermined itinerary to success, armed with nothing but a mind to think, a heart to love and hands to reach out." 

And... wow. My BS made me sound like a wise, mature little girl. Which I'm actually still getting used to for the past 10 years. I cannot claim to be wise enough or mature enough yet, but I'm getting there every day, an inch at a time. :) 

Anyway, we are all travelers on our own right. We may not have stamps on our passports, or we may not even have passports to begin with, but we are all on a steady course to experience the world like we've never thought we could. 

This year, for me, was no exception. And after that long introduction, allow me to do a round-up of the year that was for me, in true year-end blogging fashion. But before that, to put everything in perspective, at the start of 2008, I told myself that the theme for the year for me would be FEARLESSNESS. Now that's said, you be the judge if I achieved it or not: 

• January: Event Organizer for Ate Abby's Insane Cebu Wedding (No, I don't think I will have a destination wedding after that experience). 
• February: Flew to Bacolod for the Victoria's account, almost clinched the deal; Flew to Davao alone for Del Monte and Pepsi accounts. Valentine's Day at Apt 1B.
• March:  Holy Thursday around Tarlac, Bulacan and Pampanga (first time we stayed home in ages); Good Friday at San Rafael, Bulacan with the Lebron Family.
• April: Sales Caravan - Destination: Bulacan & Pampanga.
• May: Boracay with Bugsy; Ad-Hoc CFO while Parents are in Sanya & Macau; First 2008 Investment; Punta Fuego with the boys and the Lebron Family; Birthday video surprise for Enzo.
• June: Tagaytay Road Trip with Bugsy and Enzo; Bought my Black MacBook; Family Constitution Retreat. 
• July: Took a pranic healing class; Ad-Hoc CFO while Parents are in Boracay; Second 2008 Investment.
• August: The one-week hiatus with the flu.
• September: Crazy Oktoberfest; Ad-Hoc CFO while Parents are in Russia; 2nd Year Anniversary; Third 2008 Investment; Flew to Cebu alone for the SHDA Conference.
• October: Started running and swimming again; The great solo SEA Trip: Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam; Closed Philip Morris contract; Monching & Weeya's Wedding. Initial EasyHomes clients. 
• November: The great solo SEA Trip: Cambodia, Thailand, Hong Kong & Macau; EasyHomes launch; Tagaytay Overnight with Bugsy; Progressive swimming and running.
• December: First PO for EasyHomes; Closed Fast Logistics contract; The challenging board decision; First climb up the Quezon property; Family flies to Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong. 

Next year ulit? Bring it on. :)

     

Entry 15: Curtain Closing with Friends

Song of the Moment: The Kindness of Strangers by American Analog Set

Hong Kong was the perfect destination to cap off my 14-day trip. 

For the most part, I was all over the the city, hopping from one train station to another, looking for last minute pasalubong. But during the evenings that mattered, I got to spend time with Crisel, Mabs (a new friend) and even their church friends, Ate Jigs and Kuya Jeff. My favorite part of the trip was receiving an impromptu dinner invitation from Ate Jigs and Kuya Jeff at their place, where we were served Filipino soul food --- good home-cooked meals. 

It was good to be with friends who are just sincerely wonderful happy people. They’re quite a rare couple to find, mind you. Ate Jigs and Kuya Jeff are very pious, then add Crisel and Mabs in the picture, that made for a very religious dinner party. I suddenly felt empowered by the positive energy these people were emitting.    

We talked about various things --- from the couple’s providential love story, to finding their ministry in the Church, to showing off their dog Lulu’s tricks, up to defining what Prudence really means. Later that night, Crisel and I got to talk about our lives as well, as how two old friends normally do. Of course, I won’t go into details, in confidence. But I found that so many of Crisel’s realizations and our discourse across everything powerfully affect my own life’s issues. It made sense to spend the night at her flat instead of booking a HK hotel after all. 

There are so many wonderful discoveries I made about myself during the trip --- the one thing worth mentioning would be fearlessness. I think the primary reason I jumped into this adventure was to overcome many fears and insecurities, and I am proud to say that I was able to take the bull by the horns. It was a fun ride, while it lasted. And now I’m flying back to Manila to put this new perspective to the test. 

So I’m signing off for now, but that doesn’t mean the stories will cease. A whole life is still ahead of me and I’m excited about it more than ever.  Tetel was right after all, “This trip will resuscitate me back to my fully motivated self.”  And now that I’m waking up from a two-week dream, I am ready to face the everyday grind again with rose-colored glasses.

  

Entry 13: Philosophizing Disneyland

Song of the Moment: Put On Your Sunday Clothes by Michael Crawford

Growing up, I didn’t really pull a “Make-A-Wish Foundation” moment when it came to going to Disneyland. I was very fortunate to have gone to several Disneyland parks: Disneyland (California), Disney World (Florida) and Tokyo Disney. But frankly, all my Disney visits were generally “adult experiences,” even though I was actually just a child then --- I found the rides too lame, got bored of walking under the sun, found the park too huge and redundant, realized that the parks all looked the same, mocked the rides especially It’s A Small World, or even used Disney for a juvenile courtship. Whatever the experience was, I wore “adult glasses” throughout each visit... Which was sad because a trip to Disney is supposed  to be a magical experience, one for childlike wonder to prosper.

On my first day in Hong Kong, I spent the whole day in HK Disneyland, primarily because I wanted to watch Crisel perform her High School Musical performance (which is the very reason she’s based in HK now). As expected, she gave a spectacular show ---- a very strenuous-looking one at that. Imagine, she would be on a mobile float, prancing and dancing, huge smiles and everything, belting high notes under the heat of the 12nn sun. It was clearly not for the fainthearted. I’m so proud of her. I don’t think I can do what she’s doing. But with that said, I know she can because she’s really passionate about her craft.

But anyway, because she had to disappear for make-up and rehearsals, for the most part, I was walking around the park alone. I never thought doing so would move me in a way a child gets giddy over candy. I was overwhelmed by that simple childlike wonder I seem to have taken for granted for years. I sincerely went through a magical experience in Disneyland for the first time in my life --- and I am almost 25 years old!

1. I watched all the shows and sang along with all the songs. 
2. I rode the Pooh Adventure and enjoyed Pooh’s little dilemma over his hunny.
3. I rode Buzz Lightyear’s Astro Blasters and used both laser guns to reach a meager space cadet status.
4. I screamed myself silly on the Space Mountain.
5. I played “Spot the Disney Character” on the It’s a Small World Ride. 
6. I took all the photos I could take with the Disney characters roaming around the park.
7. I ate Mickey Mouse ice cream. 

In short, I did what every child would do in Disneyland --- all with a sense of simple joy and awe. I wish I had spent all my other Disney visits with this kind of mindset. I thoroughly laughed to my heart’s content and enjoyed every minute I spent there. There really is something magical about the place.   

I’m turning twenty-five years old in a little over two months. But visiting Disney reminded me that I need not lose the child in me, especially after brutally suppressing her all these years. If you look at the many messages Disney has taught us, they are very basic and important life lessons we take for granted in our lives. So listening to the child’s persona may not be so bad after all...  

1. Look at the world beautifully. 
   
2. The inner beauty is more important than exterior beauty or wealth.
   
3. We are born to fulfill our destiny to be great. And we must embrace our calling to do so.
   
4. Social norms should not hamper our ability to serve.
   
5. We need to be selfless to learn how to love and be loved. 
   
6. Goodness will always prevail. 
   
7. Nurture the child within. 
   
8. Forgive yourself for past hurts and move on. 
   
9. Respect our ancestors, our roots. 
   
10. Be kind to others. 

There are so many more lessons to mention, each one picked from a Disney animated film from my childhood. Sometimes being a child is not a manifestation of immaturity. Sometimes you need to bring out the child in you to survive through adulthood with flying colors. 

I'm so happy for K!

Song of the Moment: Avenue by Daydream Cycle

I know it's too early to make any conclusions, but I just want to say that I'm so happy for my friend K. :-)

You see, our group has generally been an all-girl group... in more ways than one. Out of the fourteen girls in the barkada, only four are in fairly stable relationships at the moment... the rest are "single" with two who broke it off with their boyfriends fairly recently. Well, you get the message. 

What I find amazing at this point in time is that, some of them are still what you can call SSB or Single Since Birth. Mind you, these girls are highly substantial, beautiful and driven women --- best catches, boys! So I firmly believe that they each deserve only the best... and I wonder at the same time why the male population of the world just can't see that. Sigh!

 

So anyway... when an SSB girlfriend finally finds the perfect window of opportunity, the whole group celebrates! Yahoo!!! It's just a beautiful, wonderful thing. Purely good vibes, no hang-ups, just going with the flow. So she gets asked out, just say yes! So they party with friends, just enjoy! So they rock it at the dancefloor, just feel the rhythm! Yay! 

I won't go into details here because I refuse to be the point of hearsay, but I just want to say that I am so so so so happy for YOU, K. And whatever happens, we'll be right here, on stand-by, eagerly waiting for a blow by blow account. We're 23-25 years old already; and contrary to popular notion, it's not too late yet. We're actually at the prime of our lives... and I want my single friends to enjoy every minute of that. 

So jubilant is the word. :-)

PS: I'm actually kinda getting tired of being the only one who brings a plus one to get-together dinners. It's seriously getting old, girls. So let's go! Hehehe. :-)