I Blog, Therefore I Am.

*Careful! This contains some Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows spoilers!

July 21, 2007 is known worldwide as Harry Potter Day or P-Day. The final and seventh book of the Harry Potter epic was unveiled today at 12:01 am at the United Kingdom (7:01 am, Manila Time). I have mixed emotions on Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows like most Potter fans. First, I am happy because it's finally here! The sixth book, Harry Potter and The Half-Blood Prince, was released in July 16, 2005 and all the fans are dying to know what happens next after its unexpected twist and ending. I am also sad since this is the FINAL book. There will be no other Harry Potter books after this. It's like parting ways and saying goodbye to my childhood; even if I was already 23 years old when I first read HP Book 1.



I republished the above photos in honor of this great day!
Photos were taken in June 21, 2003 and July 16, 2005 on the books' launch dates.



Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows
21 July 2007

Author Joanne Rowling made a definite period and said that this will be her last for the series despite the growing numbers of pleas and petitions from fans and publishers. You will truly know that this is indeed the ending since there is even an Epilogue chapter in the book (yeah, I accidentally read this part in the table of contents while I was reading the dedication page, damn!). Though she did say in an interview that there's still a small window to write about it some more. But I highly doubt it if there will be a next book.

I got my book today before closing at Powerbooks Greenbelt. I was not planning to wake up early and queue at 7:01 am to get a copy but I was planning to go to the 3:00 pm festivities at Powerbooks. Unfortunately, work and e-mails got in the way and I was able to leave the house after dinner. Good thing Powerbooks closes at 10:00 pm.



There will be long HP nights this week!



Even my cute niece, Gabbie, was not spared from the Harry Potter hoopla



I Heart Harry!
Happy Reading Potter Fans!

Powerbooks really went all out on the preparations for this last installment launch of HP. They recreated the Great Hall at their activity area at the 2nd floor and even had a snake on glass display. Potter activities and Powerbook's version of the Triwizard Tournament was also held earlier in the day. I also scored another Harry Potter box but they are now charging 10 bucks for it. Anyway, I am glad I got my book today.

Here are some snaps at Powerbooks:






The book has no synopsis as an added mystery. I was very very very careful not to read the titles of the chapters to avoid spoilers (except the one mentioned above). My brother was pestering me the whole evening and was trying to read the ending parts of the epilogue out loud! Argh! #%$@&! The theme of the book is obviously 'death'. There were even two passages in the beginning about it. If you're a reader and doesn't have a copy yet, go and grab one now! My friends who are fast reading said that it is really really great and is living up to the hype and hoopla it created. I am done with Chapter 1 and is taking my own sweet time in reading it. I think that I would be able to finish by next Saturday (or earlier if it is really really exciting!).

Long Live Harry Potter!

Aileen, Charo, Tin and I recently took photography to the next level!

Heidi, a photographer and one of Charo's patients at St. Luke's, invited us for a free portrait and photography session at her Life Studio at White Plains yesterday. This very good opportunity was also timely since we have to have a mega send-off for Tin who will be leaving again for Beijing, China on Wednesday. We truly had a blast at the shoot despite having non-stop perma-smile for almost three hours. We will be getting the CD of the photos this week but I have some behind-the-scene shots from my camera to share.

PRE-SHOOT
We've been exchanging e-mails since last week for the photoshoot extravaganza preparation. We discussed themes, clothes, shoes, and accessories. We decided on four themes and set of clothes. Aileen, as expected, loaned us a lot of stuff - from concealer to tops to accessories. We were able to use almost all of the things we brought except for the shoes - much to our dismay. I brought three pairs which includes a black stiletto and two Schu flats which I bought on-line recently.



Got these fab Schus the other day

SMILE THERAPY
The session started around 3:00 pm and we were introduced to Rosette and Denise, friends of Heidi, who helped us with our make-ups and hair styles. They were also the ones who facilitated the Smile Therapy Session prior to the actual shoot. The Smile Therapy Session aims to discover what we know and what we feel about each other. The first activity asked us to draw an animal that represents each other. I drew a cat (meticulous, OC, snobby - hehe!) for Aileen, a fish (flexible, adaptable) for Tin and a weird drawing of a dolphin (friendly, nice, a stand-out) for Charo. The second activity asked us several questions that we must answer correctly. Questions ranged from who among us was the first to have a boyfriend (me), who do we think will marry first (Charo) and we were also asked about food and things that best describes us. The activity ended with a question on our wishes for each other. It was a nice activity and we are still wondering until now the objectives behind it.



Shots during the Smile Therapy Session

M FOR MODELS


Preview of more good things (and pictures) to come!
Smiling and posing for three hours was no joke. We changed outfits four times and even semi-stripped in one of the sessions (yes, you read it right!). First set was the one with our yellow identical shirts, second was the iPod theme with water bed as props, third was the asymmetrical top shot (my favorite!), fourth was a semi-nude with only a sheet of canvass covering us, and the last one were individual portraits with our choice pose and outfit. We truly had fun in the shoot. We are so grateful to Heidi and to the 'gift' she gave us. Denise and Rosette were also great and helped us with our re-touches in between shots. We finished around 7:30 pm - tired but very happy.








POST-SHOOT
We went to Greenhills (a.k.a Beijing, Thailand) after the shoot. We tagged with Aileen while she shopped for the perfect LeSporTRAC! I swear that she was THIS close to kicking me while I fool and kid around with Tin with our cameras and saying things like LeSportrac and Beijing, Thailand. (So sorry, Aileen! You were not given the best price because of us). I am not on shopping mode so I only bought a black wood bangle to match with my gazillion black tops.





We were so famished so we had an ultimate food binge at Italiannis after shopping. We ordered Sicilian Salad (my new favorite, sorry Caesar!), Angel Hair Pomodorro and Mushroom and Gravy together with the House Bread & Vinaigrette. We gossiped about friends, blogmates and celebrities while we had servings after servings of great food. Jako, our good friend and Charo's boyfriend, fetched us and took us all home.



We will miss you, Tin!

It was truly a very nice and memorable send-off for Tin! We will truly miss her and her craziness. We truly hope that we can save enough moolah to come and visit her next year at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games in August. See yah!

*Some of the pictures above are blurry because my point-and-shoot was interfering with the studio lights. Check this Multiply album for more pictures.

My vacation days are definitely over. I started in my new work last July 2 at this Simply Amazing company. I've wanted to work at this company for the longest time. I've been applying for various positions since I resigned from Honda in 2004 but I've been unlucky until now. But as they say...dreams and prayers are always given to us at the RIGHT time.

I truly believe that NOW is the perfect timming for me to work at this company. I am now more mature, knowledgeable, understanding and experienced in the very complicated corporate world. I know that I am also more armed to face the work battles and various personalities ahead...so bring them on!



First Week Snaps
(Yeah, hair was pulled back! Can you believe it?)

I survived my first week on the job unscathed. Everyone is friendly and is helping me adjust to the new work environment. My boss treated me to a Welcome Lunch together with my group last Friday to familiarize me more with the people and the culture at our company. My boss is cool but truly expects a lot from me. I have a lot of deliverables and I have to make my section really fly-high. I understand all the concepts, templates, budgets and plans that were discussed to me (thanks to the years at Honda and Goodyear) but I must really undergo training and immersion to familiarize myself more to the different operational procedures, services and products. I am expected to have a three-week training but it was moved for the meantime because of an upcoming launch that I must supervise.



The sign that you'll see at our doors.

The culture of the company reminds me so much of Honda. It's conservative, the organization is less flat and the people are also industrious and capable. Even budget approvals and proposal frameworks are the same. I also love the way it gives importance to employees' welfare and to the adage "work hard, play harder". We have regular company outings that has a very huge budget per person (my fellow groupmates just had theirs in Boracay), birthday celebrations (it's free HP & The Order of the Phoenix movie watch for the July and August celebrants) and fun parties. I am definitely loving this company!

~*oOo*~
I had dinner last Thursday, July 5, with my Highschool friends Tin and Jamie at Chef De Angelo in Glorietta. It's been a while since we've last seen Jamie. We organized a dinner get-together so Jamie can see Tin before she leaves for Beijing in mid-July. We had fun reminiscing yesteryears and talking about our gallbladder-less abdomens. Too bad we were not able to take pictures.

My other Forces Friends (Aileen and Charo) and I will have another get-together this Saturday to properly say "See Yah!" to our dear Ex-Manang friend, Tin, who will jet-set again to Beijing for a very deserving new career. We will truly miss her. Sometimes YM conferences, Tabulas entries and Multiply posts are not enough. :(

I'm back to the workforce once again after more than a month of hiatus. My new career and work environment is very very different from what I had in the past. For starters, I am in a totally different industry. I've been with the automotive industry for more than seven years and where I am now is really a strange new exciting place. It's really tough to learn all the new practices and the different tech jargons that I've been encountering since yesterday.

I attended the New Employees' Orientation (otherwise known as NEO) yesterday and was surprised to see that one of my former course mates in Assumption, Twiggy, is one of the new supervisors to be assigned at our well-known Public Affairs Department. My work starts at 8:30 in the morning and ends...well...I actually don't know what time does it really end. Yeah, that's really the widely-known impression on our work schedule. Here's something that made me laugh nervously yesterday:

Facilitator: So, what are your expectations on our seminar today? What do you want to know? (she asked our group of fifty).
Participant: Well, I would like to ask the actual work hours of the company.
Facilitator: Our work starts at 8:30 am and it ends 5:30 pm.
Participant: Yeah, yeah, I know about that. I am asking about the ACTUAL work hours. What you said was the regular working hours.
Failitator: Oh, ACTUAL work hours? Well... (then her voice trailed off)

I love my new environment and work station. It just feels weird that it is too quiet at times. I miss the sounds of the blaring music from Binchy's iPod and the voices of Ros' various visitors that I became accustomed in the two years that I've been with Goodyear. Oh well. My current office is at the 16th floor and I am with 199 other amazing employees. It actually made me wonder if all of my floor mates knew each other's names. I am in a huge group which is divided into three departments. My department has three teams and I lead one of them. Our task is to provide communication and execution plans for the the innovative and business development service concepts that the two other teams provide. I have under me 3 officers with 1 vacant post which we are still trying to fill-in (Any takers? Ros told me that I'm very demanding so she wouldn't even consider it. Haha!). I am actually not demanding, I am just too competitive and a know-it-all.

Oh! I forgot to mention that I am also back in my beloved Makati! Yay! It's been more than three years since the last time I've worked here. I also intend to look for a halfway-house like what I had before when I was still in Honda. I've also started to shop for new shoes, tops, skirts and accessories to wear at my new trendy home. I cannot come to work make-up less and in Havaianas and jeans or capri pants like what I did in my down-south companies in the last three years. Well, that's the lowdown on being back in Makati. Work clothes can be expensive and transportation spendings can be a nightmare. Fortunately there are new affordable goodies like foodies and restaurants that are now easily accesible. The Central Business District is now flooded with fast foods, restaurants and coffee shops that were only confined at the malls before. I had my lunch at Food Odyssey at the LKG Tower this afternoon and I spent just the average lunch binge. Our office's food in the cafeteria is also quite el cheapo (the the set-up and lay-out will even make you remember highschool). Plus, our floor's pantry's filled with FREE overflowing iced teas, coffees and lattes via vendo machines! Coolness!

Whew, back to the grind again!

Finally, after 126 days of seclusion at the Big Yellow House, Sassy Girl Beatriz Saw won as The Big Winner in the much talked-about hit reality show Pinoy Big Brother. Bea bested 14 other housemates and took home more than 4 Million worth of prizes which includes cash prize, house and lot, an SUV, a kitchen showcase, a water station franchise and trip for two to Europe. The announcement was made at the Big Dome (otherwise known as the Araneta Coliseum) which was witnessed by thousands of live and TV audiences in a very grand fashion which was aptly called as The Big Night. Other winners are 2nd Big Placer Mickey Perz, 3rd Big Placer Wendy Valdez and 4th Big Placer Gee-Ann Abrahan.

I was hooked on this show since the very beginning. It became my late evening TV habit and I must say that I am kinda sad to see it go. The Big Winner plum has been a three-way contest between Bea, Mickey and Gee-Ann. Wendy's controversial entry in the Big Four was at a certain degree conceivable and believable but everyone knew that she wouldn't be able to get the top prize (click on this entry for details).

WINNER TAKES ALL
Bea is a safe and "okay lang" winner, after all, she was one of the safest housemates this season. A lot of people are happy for her winnings which would pave the way for her family to be united once again. The house and lot from St. Monique Valais will definitely allow Bea and her family to live comfortably (with a new CR-V to boot). I'm not a fan of Bea but I believe that she deserves it. I have to admit that I don't like her too much in the beginning of the season. Her TOO caring attitude ticks me. She's too good to be true at times. She was even repeatedly nominated by her housemates (most notably by Robert Woods and Bodie Cruz) for being too safe and for not expressing herself too much. Bea was always in the background. She even prefers doing chores than socializing with the other housemates. I noticed her too late into the game during the 100 Days Battle of the Exes when she was reunited with her First Love, Ackie. Oh, she's a girl who is so much in love! I will never forget how she jumped in bed for joy after seeing him. Part of the big votes she was able to rake can also be attributed to the "underdog factor". Bea was a target on the two major drama disputes in the house. First was the confrontational catfight instigated by Maricris (who was forced evicted because of it) and the second was the one with Wendy which happened just two weeks ago. After everything that has been and said and done, Bea truly deserves it.

THE BIG WINNER
If Bea deserves the prize then Mickey is the one who deserves the title. For someone who's only half-half, Mickey is someone who embodies what a true Pinoy should be. He showed respect and leadership inside the house which made him the perennial favorite of the multitudes. His very sincere and touching reunion with his family, who flew all the way from Switzerland, added to the drama of last night's affair. I've never seen Mickey bawled that much! Well, I am sure that we will see more of Mickey in the coming months. His dancing prowess and admirable qualities truly made him a stand-out.

DISAPPOINTING PLACING
The most disappointed family at the Big Night was Gee-Ann's. This girl has always been the frontrunner in all of the nomination/eviction voting results so it was really surprising that she finished last. Even Bea has always been at Gee-Ann's tail-end this season. Some said that Gee-Ann's unexpected low vote turn-out can be attributed to her "triangle" choice of Bodie Cruz. Here' a little background: in the latter part of the show, Gee-Ann toyed the idea of having two love interests in the house thus the triangle. Eventually Kuya made her choose one and she chose Bodie over Mickey. They said that Mickey fans were so disappointed by all of these and decidedly shifted their votes thus making Gee as the 4th placer and Bodie as the 5th and the last to be evicted this season. I am personally rooting for Gee-Ann (fellow Assumptionista and all) and I am quite disappointed by the turn-out. But Gee-Ann seemed happy about it and believes that her true prize was the amazing transformation and inner strength that she was able to achieve while inside the house.

SHE'S INDEED A SURVIVOR
Wendy half-knew and half-expected what awaits her outside and she came prepared. When she said that "pagbinabanggit ninyo ang pangalan ko, salamat na rin at pinapansin ninyo ako." was an attempt to somehow fight back to the crowd who's been jeering at her and saying mean things about her since the controversial drama weeks ago. Wendy's the only housemate who could possibly say things such as those. I believe that she gave a very powerful speech that made her indeed a survivor. I am no Wendy fan but she proved to me and to a lot of people how strong she really is. Two of her powerful charms on this drama are her loyal supporters who relentlessly voted and defended her all throughout and the other is Bruce Quebral and his never-ending belief (bordering blindness, insanity and stupidity) towards her.

PBB Season 2 was indeed fun to watch. I will truly miss it and my co-message board addicts who interestingly analyzed every twist and turn of the housemates and the happenings inside the house. It was an entertaining season and I can't wait for the next one.