I Blog, Therefore I Am.

I don't like video apps by default.

I was labeling and fixing some old blog entries when I saw this 2004 post. I decided to copy it and do another round of describing my day through one-liners - version 2010.

Got my first sweet call of the day.
Thankful that it was Tom who drove this morning.
SLEX will always be irritatingly SLEX.
Discovered that the presentation I did last night has some holes.
Called Joy and Chat for a short pow-wow on the missing revenue.
Skipped lunch (again) to finish the revisions.
Jane of CDO was God-sent. She came bearing with yummy Pastel Breads for me. 
Boss arrived to check my presentation. He quickly ate his lunch on my desk.
Presentation time. There were so many people. I was surprised.
Learned about a new and important project. Glad I was picked again.
E-mail, Calendar Invites, Tweet, Facebook, Adgitize.
Called Witt. Not picking up. Probably on a meeting.
Went to the last meeting of the day. Productive. Seeing the direction now.
Should I go to Baguio next week? That's the question.
Realized that I only had two Pastels and a fruit platter the whole day. Hungry.
Finally got hold of Witt. He's on his way home.
Welcome Home dinner for my bestfriend, Kat.
Happy for her new job and new life here in Manila. It's not goodbye, it's see you later.
Niece was already sleeping but opened the door for me. It's one of her nice days. Heh.
Opened my Macbook and decided to post this.

I've been blogging for more than six years now. My love for blogging and writing started with my fascination with Friendster and its testimonials. Then it evolved to something more concrete and 'formal' through a blogsite called Xanga, which I abandoned 3 weeks after I saw the user-friendly and good platform of Blogger.

I started blogging not because of a love problem or a sad break-up story (unlike a friend of mine, hehe!). What prompted me to start a blog was my frustration and indecision to resign at my first job at Honda. I never had one of those "it's my first job so live and let live" moments. I was really happy that I landed in a very good company for my first work post-college. It was such a bittersweet moment when I finally decided to leave and this blog truly helped in unleashing those angst and feelings.




Honda World Event at Glorietta, 2003



Honda's ASIMO Event in Manila, 2003

I spent five long beautiful years at Honda and I truly learned a lot from it; from identifying car mechanical stuff like head gasket to appreciating the feel, beauty and grace of a newly-launched Honda Civic. Aside from the actual resignation and the pain that goes with it, the hardest part was leaving the great pals I made who are now my lifelong friends. We are a tightly-knit family in Honda and I admit that I still miss at times those crazy-fun times and adventures that we had.

Despite everything, I owe and acknowledge that part of my success today is attributed to  Honda for giving me the ultimate bootcamp and the first taste of career achievement. The other part of course was due to the Tire Company, my third job, which made me realize that the automotive industry is not cut-out for girls like me. I learned this after spending so much time at the company's Servitek Shops, which is just similar to those Los Angeles auto repair shops, sans the prestige and the efficiency.  But that story and all the gory details about it is reserved for another exciting blog post. Stay tuned.

I was fortunate to be in Boracay last Labor Day weekend for the Smart Buddy Hot Summer Samahan event. I was not really expecting the work trip and I only learned that I was going less than 24 hours before my actual departure. I went to the island to oversee one of the activities of Smart's premiere summer event.

It was only my third trip to the island and it was fun to learn and experience new things and visit different places which I haven't been. It's also nice to discover a different Boracay apart from the watersports and beaching that we all love. Read on!

1. I was "almost" and "mostly" solo on the trip and it was both good and bad. Good because I can do all the things I want and bad because I don't have anybody to share it with.

2. Labor Day weekend was the second busiest period of summer! I was early at the airport but I was still bumped off because PAL Express overbooked my flight due to four canceled Caticlan flights that day.



3. PAL Express transferred us to Seair and it was my first time to ride a 20-seater plane (I counted)! The plane was bare and I can't sleep. I was finally able to sleep 30 minutes after take-off but the repeated turbulence woke me up.

4. The upside of Seair? We were only 9,000 ft. high so I was able to take some overhead shots; and land and sea travel to Boracay were also free!





5. There were so many people in Boracay that weekend! It was so crowded! You have to line-up for almost everything. It was also raining on and off but the people were dedma about it.

6. I met and worked with colleagues from Boracay, Iloilo and Makati who helped me with agents stuff, booth supervision and reaching the target. :)

7. First lunch meal was at The Big Mouth in D'Mall with colleagues. I ordered a small bowl of Pesto Pasta and a glass of Coke. Damage? Php 200! Welcome to Boradise of Expensive Everything!



8. I was supposed to stay at Patio Pacific (it was overbooked) or at the Fairways (it was so far) but I ended up at this simple, beachfront hotel at Station 1 called Casa Fiesta. It was right in front of our event venue and it was just less than a hundred feet from our Wireless Center. Perfect!

9. The lady who owns Casa Fiesta was very kind and accommodating. She did not ask for even a deposit or a down payment for my 4-day stay. She just asked me to fill-out some forms. The room was spacious and the bathroom was clean. It has a double bed, a TV, a ref, a/c and a veranda overlooking the beach.

10. Work on my first day was very stressful. The target was high and it was really stressful working in the beach. Unbelievable but true.



11. I took a break and a stroll along Station 1 mid-afternoon to check out the scenery. I was hoping for a Jonah's shake but it was jam-packed as usual.

12. I'll be fit as a fiddle if I live in Boracay with all the walking and strolling. I loved all the solitary walks I had.



13. I love great hotels so I took note of all the resorts and boutique hotels I want to stay in. Here are some of them: Zuzuni, Las Brisas, Residencia Boracay, Two Seasons, Bluewaves Beach House, Seawind (always been on my list since 2001), Boracay Regency and, of course, DS.



14. Since it was a work trip, we obviously had meetings! I had two on my first day.

15. I love the I-don't-care Boracay attitude that gave me the convenience of wearing anything I want. Shorts? Check! Floral overload? Check! Non-black stuff? Check! It was also the first time I wore white in years!

16. Our first day dinner was buffet at Seawind where I was able to taste one of the best pastas I've ever had = Oil & Garlic With Mushrooms and Hams. I am now hunting for a recipe!




17. There was also something in the Boracay air that makes one thirsty! So I ordered a glass of Bailey's on one of the beach bars near my hotel. I had the shock of my life when the bartender gave me two glasses. I apparently ordered one their "buy one, take one" drinks. Geez!



18. I was up bright and early on my 2nd day for our actual Summer Samahan event. I was happy and excited. I was up until 2:00 am devising a strategy that would "sell". It DID sell and we had a favorable outcome. Yey, me!

19. I was busy the entire day working non-stop. I only stopped for a well-deserved lunch at Tribraz along Station 2. Tribraz is a french bistro near Cafe Del Mar. I had Potato & Meat Casserole and Rice Pilaf. Yummy!

20. I had an EX moment across the miles. I can't believe it! *shakes head, roll eyes*

21. Speaking of #21, I learned that all my pasts and possible future are all Smart subscribers. Galeng!

22. The Summer Samahan event was so great! Bosses will be happy. I realized that I can also be an excellent frontliner and on-ground person. Chat will be proud!



23. I would like to thank Aqtiv 100 Plus Energy Drink (Hi, Jomar! Hello, Mark!) and Colgate for the support and sponsorship. Until next time!

24. I was so exhausted the whole day but it did not hinder me to peek at my Social Networking Sites and tweet.

25. Second night's dinner was another buffet at Le Soleil De Boracay at Station 2 with colleagues. It was just so so. Nothing spectacular.

26. I strolled along Station 2 and 3 after dinner. I discovered new restaurants, saw the new Mandarin Spa and took note of all the places I can take my family on our trip in June.



27. Looks like the best chill-out places in the island are (and still are) Guilly's, Bamboo Lounge and the new Obama's Grill at Statiton 1; and Bombom's, SummerPlace and Hey Jude at Station 2.


The new Obama Grill at Station 1

28. Spongecola is the best! 'Nuff said, love 'em. The Summer Samahan Event culminated with a concert of Spongecola, Rocksteddy and Bamboo. Rock on!

29. I caught a fever because of the on/off rain and the high temp of my room's AC. I spent the night on-line with my favorite fattening snack bought from D'Mall: Lays & Coke.

30. I am the biggest loser in Boracay because I spent the day in bed resting and nursing my colds on my 3rd day. I was awoken by cheers before lunch as a result of Pacman's greatest boxing battle against Hatton. I wasn't able to watch the match live but I learned from Twitter how the bloodshed happened.

31. I spent my final afternoon doing usual Boracay stuff like eating Chori Burger, strolling along Station 1 and sipping Jonah's Fruitshake. I tried the plain Mocha flavor and it was delicious.



32. There was, of course, the Sunset! It was not a magnificent summer sunset and it was very cloudy but it was great nonetheless.





33. I love the All Flip Flops By The Beach store at Station 1. Nice lighting, too!



34. My favorite Boracay activity is Massage By The Beach so I obviously did not leave the island without it. It was relaxing and refreshing as usual.

35. I had my first-ever Henna Tattoo! I was so happy about it so I had two. One on my right ankle and the other one on my right leg.



36. One of my best ever meal was at Aria. I had the Aglio, Olio, e Peperoncino pasta for my last lunch at the island. It was so delicious. All the raves about Aria are indeed true!



37. The flight back home was breeze. I took a PAL Express flight and I must say that it's the best ride I've ever had from Caticlan to Manila. It's not as "uncontrolled" like Cebu Pacific and Seair.



38. I arrived around 4:00 PM on a Monday and was both happy and sad about it. Sad because I just came back from one of best places in the world and happy because I am back in my beloved city with my family and friends on it.

I'll be going back to Boracay in June but this time with the family. We will be celebrating my brother's 27th birthday there. Hopefully, I'll be able to swim and do beach stuff and watersports by then.

Viva La Vida. Live The Life.


This came from my blip.fm player.
And "Anna Vida" is my full name - in case you don't know.

I survived February & March! These past weeks were definitely some of the most hectic ones I had in the last few years thus the non-post.

Work was a blast with all our new responsibilities and stuff to do BUT it also came with a lot of pressure and stress. Days were jampacked with meetings, overtime at the office, e-mails, work at home, number crunching and business trips. Though I am loving every bit of what I am doing, I am also missing some of the ME time that I had to give up to cover more work stuff. My group's functions and targets (even our KRAs) dramatically changed this year thus we also picked the pace and worked as if there's no tomorrow.

Everything is quite cool at the moment and we seem to be more in control of things now so I hope that April will not be as busy.

Thank God for the Lenten break. Catch you all later! Updates soon!

I went to Cebu a week ago and to Davao last Thursday. Both are quick trips where I attended two important regional meetings. Both were good trips and I feel confident that the huddles we had will yield positive results in the next months (Go, Team!).

I requested too late for my trip to Cebu so I was very unfortunate to be booked on a Cebu Pacific flight outbound. It was terrible! The ground staff were so impolite and they ask embarrassing questions to passengers out loud! I will really try my best NOT to take any Cebu Pacific flights in the future - cheap rates or not! There's absolutely no excuse for bad customer service. They were very different from the personnel from PAL who even gave me a seat upgrade on my flight to Manila from Davao.

Cebu was a delight as usual! I stayed for less than a day but it was still a joy nonetheless. I arrived 8ish and immediately checked-in to my hotel. I was upgraded to one of their suite rooms but I soon realized that it was freaky to spend a night alone in a very huge room (but the plasma TV was great). I had a late dinner at Bigby's at my now-favorite Ayala Terraces, browse a few books at Fully Booked, took some night shots, and had a very relaxing well-deserved massage at The Spa at Cebu.


The new Ayala Terraces


Grilled Rodeo Chops

I've wanted to try The Spa at Cebu since last year but I never had the chance until last week. The facility is okay and they truly made the effort to make the place relaxing and zen-ish. They adapted some styles and elements from the original The Spa here in Manila (but I think they are not related) and it turned out great. It was by far the best spa massage I had in Cebu. Try it on your next visit.


The Spa at Cebu

Davao did not fail to excite me as always. I was unbelievably stressed and anxious on the trip because I left a ton of work at the office and I unknowingly lost my ATM card on my way out. I only realized that it WAS gone when I was about to withdraw money at the airport. Good thing I have SMART Money so a colleague was able to lend me some moolah through our mobile phones and I was able to withdraw it instantly. The joys of SMART Money! Clearly one of our best innovations ever! It's really handy on "ooppps" moments like these.

The highlight of my Davao trip was probably our dinner at Pard's. Davao is known for its hole-in-the-wall restaurants which serve delicious seafood and grilled delights. We had prawns, fish, crabs and one of the best tasting tuna sashimi I've ever had! It was fresh, thinly sliced, and it doesn't have the funky taste that sashimis usually have. Too bad I wasn't able to bring home some because of an early morning flight the following day.


Durian - the most misjudged fruit in the Philippines


I ordered Chocolate Mousse from Room Service. Yummy.


Early morning at Davao International Airport.
Travel SMART, of course!

One of the most memorable moments I had on this trip was my first taste of Durian (the most misjudged fruit in the whole Philippines). I've had durian candies and shakes before but I've never tasted the actual fruit. The smell was so weird that even if it was good it was still weird for me. I took just a bite and gave up on it entirely. Sorry! :)

I've waited for January 23 for four days - that's from January 19 to 22. Aside from the fact that it's payday, I've longed for the day simply because it's TGIF! Work was demanding and whirlwind in the last week and it was such a joy to finally reach Friday. January is always a loaded month because of all the proposals and plans we have to turn in for the new year. We've already submitted two proposals in the last week and negotiated a lot of "deals" so I think we are on the right track. I'm pretty inspired and excited for the new things and projects that we are doing and I cannot wait to launch and implement them all.

Nothing beats celebrating a Friday after a long and hardworking week. So here are some tales on how I celebrated last Friday with my colleagues; and the upcoming Chinese New Year with my friends.

FRIDAY IS ALWAYS PICTURE DAY
My officemates love posing for pictures. So here are some samples on how we usually spend Fridays: in front of the camera.







KUNG HEI FAT CHOI!
My friends and I are not Chinese but our dinner pick for Friday was at Superbowl in Glorietta 4 to somehow celebrate the Lunar New Year. We ordered a LOT since we were used to having dinners for five people. Unfortunately, Charo and Jako were not able to join us so it was only me, Tin, and Aileen who consumed all the fattening Chinese munch you can see below.


Chinese Food Fest Face-off! Hehe!


Starters: All The Free Kropek You Can Eat


Dimsum Combination Platter
(Siopao, Hakao, Pork Siomai, Deep-fried Wanton, Vegetarian Spring Roll)


Yang Chow Fried Rice


Hunan Tofu


Lechon Macau


Crispy Mandarin Chicken

We watched Kate Hudson and Anne Hathaway's Bride Wars after our hearty meal. It was such a fun movie about weddings and friendship. The ending was a bit unexpected but not really surprising. I've always been a fan of Kate and Anne (more of Kate) but this movie definitely belongs to Anne. It's a lovely chick flick that helped us de-stress after a long work week.

TGIF! Until January 30!