Look-busy Mode

im back in ssip's office. finally im done with my nokia project. hmmm... that doesnt sound like good news to me because that means we dont have any project with nokia anymore until june. so no offshore deployment for me either. =(

this is my second day working on a new project. More SAP related than that of my last project. I will be developing using SAP's new product, the SAP Portal. Boss said that we're the only company here in PI who's developing using this tool. SAP is obviously gearing towards web-based applications using java... good for my resume but pretty bad when i have questions with no resources to ask about it.

im back playing warcraft. God i missed playing this game. We had a couple of games last night and awhile ago, im not so bad! I thought my playing skills are a bit rusty since i havent played for like 4 months. really that long time ago!


My not so neat work area 

Here is my mega cluttered desk. Obviously im not working... just blog hopping! Hey john, there's your site! Im so sleepy to work today. We had an 8am meeting awhile ago. I woke up at 6am to make it to the meeting. I still lack sleep.

Im in the 'look-busy' mode.

McDonald's pancakes etc...

Have you ever tried eating McDonald's pancakes lately? I was eating breakfast at McDonald's this morning. I ordered 2pcs pancakes with hot choco. I noticed that the syrup is not as thick as it used to be. Ok, it's been a long time since I had McDonald's pancakes prior to this morning. I think the last time was 4-5years ago when I used to go to McDonald's Padre Faura near UP Manila at 7am to review for an exam. The maple(?!?) syrup, or whatever syrup that is, isnt as thick and as sweet as it used to be. I have low tolerance for anything sweet and the sweetness of the syrup can barely be called sweet! Honey was even sweeter than that! Probably, McDonald's is doing cost cutting measures so they try to dilute the thick syrup with water so they can yield a greater amount. Hmmm... Anyway, i still enjoyed the sausage McMuffin that obviously shrunk a few centimeters.

I watched White Noise yesterday. I was never a big fan of suspense/horror flicks. I always got scared even if the movie isnt scary at all because of my wild imagination. I will never watch a suspense/horror movie any more!

I finished doing a couple of tasks this morning. I passed by the bank to deposit a long overdued cheque. I also went to citibank to pay my credit card bill. I just finished doing my bug fixes. Yehey!

Good things have been happening to me lately. First, I had a trip to cebu without my employer questioning my absence last monday. I lied about being sick! =D Second, wednesday last week we had a meeting with my employer about our tax shield and payslip. The good news is, we are not required to submit receipts for our tax shield. Yipee! I used to collect tons of receipts just to cover for my tax shield and encode all of it in an excel sheet. Good thing my employer decided to adjust our individual gross salary so it will not affect the NET pay we are currently getting and get rid of the so called tax shied. Bad news is, if ever we hire new employees, they wont get the tax shield anymore. 30% tax shield is really big money! Third, my boss gave me a letter from the company stating my salary increase! My salary increase isnt as big as the previous year's but it's still an increase!

My bestfriend is giving birth this week. Im quite excited and at the same time scared for her. It's her first baby. Im going to be a godmother again pretty soon. Yikes!

Quizilla

~*~Beautiful Soul~*~
You're the type of person who is loving, giving,
sweet, generous, genuine, and optimistic. You
see the beauty around you and you admire it for
its faults, as well as perfections. Most likely
a dreamer, you are highly respected and liked.
People like to be around you because you make
them happy. You have a wonderful personality
and you're beautiful inside and out!


brought to you by Quizilla

All About Me

Survey on Lasts

[ Last ] letter of ur FIRST name?
** A

[ Last ] thing you ate?
** sausage mcmuffin

[ Last ] thing u drank?
** water

[ Last ] song you listened to?
** pretty baby

[ Last ] thing u did?
** debug codes

[ Last ] movie you watched?
** white noise

[ Last ] TV show you watched?
** CSI

[ Last ] person who sent you an sms?
** officemate

[ Last ] time you cleaned your room?
** long time ago.. cant even remember when

[ Last ] CD you bought?
** D' Sound

[ Last ] Travel?
** Lastweek's trip to cebu

[ Last ] word/s you said?
** Bye...

[ Last ] time you cried?
** few days ago

[ Last ] person who you chatted online with?
** bes

[ Last ] person u added to ur list?
** i cant remember

[ Last ] website you browsed?
** yahoo

[ Last ] time you shopped?
** yesterday

[ Last ] person you hated?
** that guy who made me wait

[ Last ] person u were thinking of?
** hmmm... the same as above

[ Last ] time u felt sick?
** last saturday.. i was having abdominal pain

[ Last ] person u chatted on the phone with?
** officemate

[ Last ] place you went to?
** pantry

[ Last ] friend you met?
** last friday night, old college friends

----

Isa pang survey
1. coffee/tea?
COFFEE

2. tv/music?
tv

3.wine/beer?
wine

4. working/studying?
working

5. how do u go to work/skul?
commute.. veteran commuter ito!

6. cp/landlyn?
cell

7. are u addicted to sumthing now?
yeah

8. what?
shopping! indeed a very expensive addiction!

9. do you smoke?
yes

10. cig brand?
marlboro lights, dunhill lights

WHAT/ WHO WOULD?...
11. makes you smile/laugh?
my old college friends who always crack jokes, my cousins

12. makes you happy?
a lot of things, even the simplest and littlest of things

13. makes you sad/cry?
i cry easily... any sad thought, anything bad happening, when im angry

14. when was d last time you cried?
few days ago

15. why?
because of some realizations

16. when was the last tym you were so inlove?
im an still inlove

18. how long do you take shower?
minimum of 5minutes to an hour

19. do you collect something?
yes

20. what?
shoes

21. aside from fam n frends...hu makes u happy these days?
=)

-----

Survey lang daw (in short spam)

1. What name do you want to be called?
blue ginger

2. When & Where you we're Born?
1980, QC

3. How did you celebrate your last birthday?
dinner with family

4. Name 5 Cartoon Characters:
Spongebob
Winnie the Pooh
Johnny Bravo
Chuckie - rugrats
Tommy - rugrats

5. Name 5 Places you want to visit:
France - esp. Paris
Spain
Vatican
Rome
Italy

6. Name 5 Things you do all the time?
Work
Sleep
Eat
Shop
Walk

7. Name your 5 Fave Food:
Taho
Shrimps
Pasta
Rice in a box
Hainanese Chicken

8. What is your 5 Fave Movie?why?
Ocean's Eleven - the goodlooking guys are there!
Something's Gotta Give - really nice ending, melts my heart
Coyote Ugly - feel good movie... i dreamt of being a coyote one day! hahaha
National Treasure - related to dan brown's book... which im so addicted reading
Last Samurai - who doesnt like tom cruise?

9. What is your 5 Fave Music?
Happy
Knocks Me Off My Feet
Conviction of the Heart
If the Feeling is Gone
Til My Heartaches End

-----

Survey thingie ulit ^_^
1. anong year ka grumaduate ng college?
2002 - one year delayed because of my f*cking thesis

2. saan kang skool graduate?
UP Manila

3. anong course mo nung college?
Computer Science

4. may mga organizations ka bang sinalihan?
SOCOMSCI, UP PEERSOC

5. most memorable experience nung college?
tambay sessions in robinson's place foodcourt

6. sino ka love team mo sa college?
wala

7. anong ginagawa mo pag-free time mo?
tambay

8. sinong paborito mong guro noong college ka?
Sir Bart

9. paborito mong subject?
Stat! hahaha...

10. san ang tambayan mo pag-tapos ng class mo?
robinson's place foodcourt

11. sino mga close frends mo sa college?
cliff hanger's society

12. may naka-away ka ba sa college mo?
meron

13. sinong significant other mo sa college mo?
miket... an ex from College of Public Health... didnt last that long actually!

14. kayo pa rin ba hangang ngayon?
nope! i wish noh!

14. masaya ba ang fiesta ng school mo?
yes

15. ano sinasakyan mo papuntang skool?
fx, jeep, lrt, kotse ni bes

16. ano mas okay ang college or ang highskool?
college!

17. nakikita mo pa ba ang mga kaibigan mo sa college?
of course!

18. anong tawag sa'yo nung college ka?
Li, bes

19. sinong crush mo sa college mo?
sobrang dami! si tiger, si pooh, si wazzup-wazzup, etc...

20. maganda ba ang skool mo?
of course!

21. anong parte ng skool mo ang gusto mo puntahan?
ung labas labas ng school... sa may rob. place! hahaha

22. famous ka ba or infamous ngayon college?
not famous but i have a lot of friends even from different colleges

23. in one word ano masasabi mo sa college life mo?
Outrageous

Sinulog 2005

Saturday 10:30am, i left the house together with my cousin's family (ate donna's) and two yaya's on our way to the domestic airport. As usual it was traffic going to the airport. Good thing we left the house 2 1/2hours before our flight. When we arrived the airport, it was just an hour more wait before the flight. We saw rachel lobangco with her hubby in the cebu pacific flight to cebu before our flight.

We arrived cebu at exactly 1pm. Good thing we were on time. The picking of the checked-in baggages were the ones that took much of our time. My uncle from australia who went to cebu few days earlier and another uncle who lives in cebu picked us up from the mactan airport. It was a hot saturday afternoon in cebu. We went straight to Ayala. We ate our 5pm lunch at Cafe Laguna and then did some shopping. I wasnt able to meet up with Gary due to my unexpected activities for the day. Ayala is on a three day sale by the way. Then we endured the gruelling traffic to one of the churches in the city. We attended mass and then went home to my lola's house in Pardo. We had dinner there and unpacked our things. My cousin told me about ghost stories in my lola's house. So during my whole stay there, i dont use the bathroom too long. i always hurry up taking a bath! We slept late.

Sunday morning at around 7am, we left my lola's house. We went to an uncle's apartment in Mango Ave. We stayed there the whole day for the Sinulog. The parade passed in front of their house so we had a good view of the floats and presentations. Btw, my uncle's apartment is just across Sacred Heart School for boys in Mango Ave. That was the architect's school back in gradeschool and highschool. At around 5pm we left my uncle's house and headed to ayala. We waited for the fireworks display. The fireworks show started around 8pm. Really nice show! Even better than that of the fireworks display here in manila. We headed back to my lola's house in pardo afterwards. Slept late again!


Sinulog Festival 2005 


Sinulog Festival 2005 


Sinulog Festival 2005 

We were supposed to go to Bohol on Monday but we weren't able to get tickets due to the many passengers going home to bohol who attended the sinulog the previous day. Monday morning we went to Magellan's cross in the city. Everytime i visit cebu, i never fail to pass by this place. The gate to the actual cross was closed when we visited. I noticed that there were lots of people selling candles and then they'll ask for the name of the person you want to offer your prayer. The same vendors would pray aloud while waving the candles, some even dance while praying and then give you back the candles so you could light them. It's my first time to see this kind of people. In normal days (without sinulog), you wont see these vendors offering paid prayers. I wonder if god even listens to their prayers knowing that they got paid just to pray!


Magellan's Cross 

Monday afternoon we went to Mactan and ate lunch at No Problem Sutukil. I wonder why they call the place No Problem. My uncle said that everytime you ask for something from the waiters, they would answer you 'No Problem'.hahaha. Anyway, food was absolutely delicious. I can never get enough of seafoods! What i love most about cebu is that seafood is cheap. Unlike in manila that you can barely find fresh seafood, much more find a cheap one! I had so much prawns that day. I cant believe that you can buy big prawns for less than 400pesos. Pwede pa tumawad! After lunch, we visited shangrila mactan and plantation bay. I used to love plantation bay so much the first time i went there which was around 1998. Now ive noticed that they werent able to keep the place as nice as it was 7 years ago (OMG, im really getting old). The cottages seemed old now. The pools are not as clean as it was before. I think i like Shangrila Mactan better now. They have a new swimming pool(im not sure it is new but the last time i saw it, it wasnt there yet). The beach is undeniably gorgeous! Im not sure which one is cheaper but i liked Shangrila better. On our way home we did some shopping at White Gold. I bought pasalubongs for my officemates and old college friends who requested chorizo, danggit and dried mangoes.


Shangrila Mactan 


Shangrila Mactan's beach - Ate Donna on the side. 


Shangrila Mactan's beach - With my cousin Karen. 


At Plantation Bay, Mactan. 


Plantation Bat View 

Monday night we went out to visit University of San Jose - Recoletos in Talavera. The place is absolutely wonderful. We went to the small church there and then we went to the roofdeck where the view is better than that of Tops'. The director there, Fr. Raul Buhay, is a relative of ours so we were given access to the place even if it was around 10pm. Fr. Buhay toured us to the stations of the cross downhill. Btw, Talavera is in the mountain area already! It was a really, really beautiful place for retreats. I would love to go back there. My cousins kept teasing me that i should get married in that church and then hold the reception in the roofdeck. Hahaha. As if I can get married in a catholic church knowing that my last boyfriend was iglesia!


At the roofdeck of USJR in Talavera 


Stations of the cross in Talavera. 

Yesterday, Tuesday, we left the house really early to visit Sto. Nino church before going to the airport. It was just a short visit because we didnt have much time left. We left Mactan airport at around past 9am. We got back here in Manila at past 10:15am. Our flight got delayed because of some heartless people who failed to board on-time. I was so late for work that my boss was already texting me what time i was going to the office. Anyway, we got home safe and in one piece. This was a very tiring but exciting vacation. I sure am glad to have visited Cebu once again. But then some part of me was still left hanging in Cebu. My ultimate goal of seeing the architect for the last time didnt materialize. I tried to contact him in his house but his maid said that the architect is in manila. look at how destiny plays with us. Maybe we're really not meant to see each other. Oh well, it's a sign from God to move on. Maybe it was His way of telling me to forgive him, let him go and teach myself to love someone else as much as i have loved the architect. I'll be perfectly fine hopefully soon. I have done this a lot of times before... i mean moving on. This isnt something new to me. I just need more time away from him. I just wish that god would give me strength to be firm with my decision once and for all.

I have learned that the man who really loves me is the man who does not treat me as his second option.

Cebu Here I Come!

Just one day left before my flight to cebu. Actually, this is the first day in three months that I was not doing much stuff here at work. We finally got done with the last release yesterday. Yehey! I survived this gruelling experience of handling a debugger's kind of job! Starting today, I will just be doing support work. Yipee!!! Back to slacking around the client's office.

I have this new bad habit. I am starting to get addicted with reading food blogs. Yep... food blogs! In my desperate attempt to cook pinoy food back in Finland, i came across this very informative and accurate food blog of The Sassy Lawyer. I tried her chicken adobo, veggie stir-fry, etc... It was quite a success when my canadian flatmate, another pinoy flatmate and a finnish couple guests happily emptied all the pots. Our Finnish guests even asked me for the recipe of the adobo. Hahaha. Bumenta! Anyway, they jokingly planned to put up a Filipino resto-bar in Helsinki. And they said they'll get me as their chef! Hahaha. I dont think my cooking is restaurant quality yet but at least I know how to cook good food. Since then, every time im in finland, my canadian flatmate would have a deal with me. He'll pay for our food and even do the grocery and i will do all the cooking. It was a great deal on my side of course! Food in Finland is absolutely expensive. I even had a hard time deciding if im going to buy a small bottle of Patis because it costs 4euros there... which is roughly around 290pesos. Imagine that! Anyway, during my food deal, i was able to save a lot of money because im not spending on my food. Of course, those savings went to my Finland shopping spree.

HH is picking me up today. He says he'll miss me over the weekend so he's spending more time with me while im here. My god! I'll only be gone for 3 days! Hahaha. Maybe he's just worried that i might meet with the architect and decide not to come back to manila anymore. hahaha. As if i can do that! And as if im going to meet with the architect. I have decided not see him... for my sake and for everyone else's sake. I think my will power to let go of him is stronger now. I really really hope so!

HH sent me the mp3 of kyla - If the Feeling Is Gone. So that means Ella Mae Saison and Kyla are alternatingly singing my kind of songs these days. At least i have 2 songs in my playlist now!

Long Day for Ella Enchanted

Im in the client's office and im slacking again. hehehe. Ill start working as soon as i finish publishing this blog. Promise!

My brain needs a jumpstart. I barely slept because i got home late last night from work. My mom nearly dragged me out of bed awhile ago. I had my daily doze of caffeine courtesy of my client's unlimited supply of cappucino and brewed coffee. After finishing a big mug of coffee, I still can't feel any difference. My body is begging me to sleep. I think I'll be having 5-10 mugs of coffee today to keep my body functioning as it should.

This is another long day for Ella Mae Saison. Hahaha. Yes folks, she's in my playlist again! I've memorized her song that I can sing it even if im asleep. Anyway, for the joy of relaxing before starting to work, I've finished answering the survey below.

My Top 5 Biggest Joys at the Moment:
1) being ultimately busy means i still have a job ;)
2) having someone who has a humungous amount of patience inspite of my insanity
3) being blessed with a loving family and great friends
4) being relatively successful with my chosen career
5) being alive and healthy

15 years ago:
-- i was 9 years old then. I was in grade 3 and minding my own business! life was less complicated.

10 years ago:
-- I was in 1st year highschool. I was still the overly grade conscious geek. hahaha.

5 Years Ago:
-- I was graduating from college. Overnights at ate jing's house to make our thesis. I was avoiding my bestfriend because we had a big big fight which caused us to drift from each other. The fight was so bad that we didnt speak to each other for two years.

3-4 Years Ago :
-- I was already working. I had my first job as a Software Engineer in an IT company in QC. Salary was not so high but i admit i have learned a lot of things there. I was earning half my current salary then.

1 Year Ago :
-- I was already working here in Makati doing support for nokia FI.

This Year :
-- I intend to make my paris vacation dream come true. =D

Yesterday :
-- I got stucked in the client's office until 11pm. I was the last one to leave the office. My God! My company should be paying me triple OT pay!

Today :
-- Im going to finish my development tasks and hopefully get home early so I can sleep early too. My bed misses me so much! hahaha.

3 Games/sports I Like:
- volleyball
- table tennis
- billiards

5 Things I'd Buy With $1000:
- shoes
- clothes
- bags
- more shoes
- food

3 Bad Habits I Have:
- nail biting
- panicking when deadline is so near
- being workaholic


5 TV Shows I Like:
- CSI / CSI Miami
- Monk
- Sex and the City
- Unwrapped
- National Geographic

Places I've Lived :
- manila, helsinki

My Top 3 Biggest worries at the Moment:
- deadlines with work
- paying bills
- lovelife

5 Things You spend Most Money On:
- food
- utilities
- going out
- transpo
- shopping

6 Favorite Things:
- shoes
- dining out
- my phone
- my laptop
- shopping =D
- travelling

3 Foods I Dislike/Hate:
- veggies i cant eat
- exotic foods such as frogs, lizards, insects, etc.
- anything greasy or too sweet

5 things/ppl u treasure/idolise alot in ur life:
- my family
- HH
- HH's family
- the architect
- boss jaime

What Color Are You?

Green You are a very calm and contemplative person. Others are drawn to your peaceful, nurturing nature. Find out your color at Quiz Me!

I'll Just Keep On Dreaming...

I'm still stuck here at the client's office. This is really a bad day for me.

First, i am the only person from our office who is in the Big N working on a project. Two of my teammates are in finland. My boss who used to be a teammate is working on another project with another client. I've been working alone til 9:30pm with no one to talk to since the start of this year. Panis na laway ko! I dont want to end up having badbreath because i barely talk the whole day!

Second, this f***ing program is giving out errors when deployed in the client but I can't recreate the error on my local deployed version. GRRRR! It's not that I dont know where to start debugging, what pisses me so much is that when i try to connect the database to our client's db, it's so fu**ing slow. It takes me 15mins or more to load a single page. Wonder why? The db is in finland running in their WAN. waaaahhh! Im actually blogging while waiting for the page to load. This is so counter productive!

Third, im suffering from extreme headache. I think this is probably due to too much stress! I tried eating while doing this because i thought it might be caused by hunger but i almost finished eating this pizza and my headache kept getting bad.

For the last 11 hours, the song Til My Heartaches End by Ella Mae Saison has been playing on my laptop. This is the only song in the playlist. Just imagine how many times Ive heard this song today. More than a hundred times! It is my some sort of theraphy for myself. I listen to the music i can relate to over and over until i get numb. So that the next time i hear this song, i wouldnt be affected any more. Paos na si Ella Mae saison! hahaha.

All I Ask Is Just a Little Honesty

I have neglected my blog for quite a while now. I have been ultimately busy the past weeks because of this final package release for my client. Honestly, I wanted to blog few weeks back but I am having a hard time trying to figure out how to say the things running inside my head. Ive read in one of the regular sites I visit this quote:

Let go. Nothing is usually the hardest thing to do - but often it is the best.

I got a chance to read this quote during the time i felt so confused. Indeed, god gives answers in the most unexpected ways. =)

Honestly, I still feel sad. I can feel that there is this big void inside me pleading to be filled-up. But the only person I wanted to fill-in that void is nowhere to be found. The architect and I stopped communicating. I don't know how it happened but it just did. Maybe this is his way of helping me get over him. I can't explain how sad I am. All i know is that it hurts really bad. Good thing I have so much work to do. I work for more than 12 hours daily. When I get home, Im too tired to even think of being sad!

Im leaving for cebu on saturday afternoon. (John, my flight was changed!) Im going to the architect's territory with no plans of meeting him. This is going to be my first time to attend Sinulog Festival. I intend to go home to Cebu every year to attend the sinulog starting this year. This is going to be my way of saying thank you for the blessings that God kept giving me inspite of the not so good things ive been doing the past years. I will be staying at my lola's house in Pardo and then leave for Manila on the following tuesday morning. That means i'll be absent from work on monday which my boss has no idea about. Im planning to take sick leave on that day. But i'll go straight to work from the airport when we arrive. Btw, im flying with my cousin's family and my aunt and uncle from australia.

John, I'll see you when i arrive in cebu. I'll text you, I promise.

I'm looking for mp3's of Till My Heartaches End and If the Feeling is Gone both by Ella Mae Saison. Any one with kind heart, please send me a copy of the mp3's to my email.

Happy New Year

happy new year! Almost everybody makes new year's resolutions every year knowing that most of it, if not all, are bound to be broken anyway. But at least there is something they're aiming at doing for the following year. Ok, im one of those people who cant keep a new year's resolution. Every year there is always that compulsion to begin anew, to do things right, to make your life seem different. Here is my list:

1. I will not neglect my health anymore.
2. Less shopping sprees... save more.
3. I will be more kind to other people.
4. I will try to reduce my mood swings.
5. I will take java certification exam this year.
6. I will religiously follow my planned diet. :D

I am looking forward to another year full of great experiences.

Im back in the office. Working like a peon again. Im on the last leg of my project here at Nokia. Next week is my due date. Also next week is the Sinulog. Im hoping to get a flight to cebu. My travel agent hasnt called yet. :(