Slingapore

I'm now back from my four day business (it's really work this time...=0) trip in Singapore... A tough board meeting and AGM... The scope of my presentation has gotten bigger every time... but I guess, I still managed to survive another round of grilling... The difficult thing is the time and odds was really difficult... The time for subs to close should be shorten to provide more time to analyse the balances...

The good part of the trip was being able to ride the Singapore flyer with SGV friend Edmond and seeing my inaanak Jarren... The Singapore flyer is Singapore's equivalent to the London's Eye and it provides a nice scenic view of Singapore... the experience being stuck in a capsule going around at snail pace for you to appreciate the view in a large version of a Ferry's Wheel was in a way unique being able to see the various Singapore attractions from way up top... Though a single round of 30 minutes is quite short for its S$29 cost... but I guess, its the experience that matter... After the flyer, I had dinner with Edmond, Joanne and family. Jarren is a very heavy 11 month old boy... and since it was held in Lucky Plaza, it had a nice taste of home...

Well, that's for the fun part, the rest was work... though I did have time to shop in Chinatown area... funny how I navigated the place just to look for the cheapest set of souvenirs... The realisation was that I was spending too much time in the heat of the scorching sun just to be able to satisfy my stingy side... A stroll in the Orchard is fun especially with my favorite S$1 Ice Cream (It's actually S$1.20 during weekends)... and getting lost in the city as well as having Singapore Sling both at the hotel and at the airplane...

Singapore is one place I get to visit at least once a year due to the AGM... good thing the place develops so rapidly that despite being such a small country, there's always something new to explore... but I guess, they have to come up with developments fast as chances are the next board meeting will then be again in Singapore... =>

Three-kets

Three tickets... One leads me to work (of course, partly vacation) and two is purely vacation...

Ticket One... leads me to the AGM in Singapore (I'm definitely gonna be grilled again)... This is a tough report to present, as always... but the on the bright sunny side is that I get to see my inaanak Jarren and spend some time with my Singapore friends...

Ticket Two... leads me to the natural beauty of Puerto Princesa in Palawan... It's gonna be a 4 day trip with SGV Pals (Arlyn, Rommel, Mike, Cathy and Me)... Ruth and Anna, it's not to late to catch up... We need your vacation expertise to have a grand time...

Ticket Three... leads me to a land down under... a 10 day vacation, which I still haven't gotten permission but I guess it's the break I've been craving for since last year... May should be my lightest month in terms of workload... and worse comes to worst, the ticket is rebookable...

How about a fourth ticket??? A possibility with a due diligence upcoming in Cambodia... but as of now, three-kets is a more viable idea...

As for this moment, I need to muster enough focus to finish everything (we haven't really gotten any headway for our preparations for AGM) but things will be done in time... there's just hardwork in between...

Mike is Back!!!

FAA Group's Mr(?). Pressure with poise Mike is back from Saudi for a month... I was able to gather a few former SGVeans to meet up in Pizza Hut Bistro last night in what turned out to be a very long night...

Just imagine the tales of foolish SGV days that transcends to several batches... a drum full of laughter and all the laglagan... and the unexplained connections and experience of people within the group (controversial and revealing... =>)... The unique part of the night was being able to gather that much in a matter of hours... It really doesn't take much planning but rather a game of chance to have people be available...

Started with a Me, Mike and Anna, then came Al... Called in Mark with Mina and arrival of Macoy and then the final piece Ernie... All coming from several batches in SGV... So much have lapsed and stories to tell that made the night a lot more fun... and then just to see the how each story intersect is quite amusing...

But I guess, when past lives meets current events... It's always a long night waiting to happen... and as of now, I'm stuck on a long day with having to wake up early for my regular car maintenance check and a warm up meeting for the annual general meeting in Singapore... and while I'm at it, I do have to check on the availability of flights for my vacations... =>

Vacation.... Vacation...

I finally got my australian visa... now I can plan my Au vacation... It's just a matter of booking and asking permission for a much needed leave... I hope to finish everything on time before my planned days of vacation...

There's a sweet and bumpy road ahead... Singapore AGM... then Palawan... then possibly several more plant tour... a probably site visit to Cambodia (Angkor Wat)... and Australia... then there may still be something planned in between...

I'll have to get my ticket tomorrow... then file a leave on Monday... but for now, need to finish all the load to have smooth vacation to come... Did I say my mind is all set on one thing... VACATION... but I guess that's too obvious not to notice...

Marked Man

If my regular work isn't hard enough, I still have to deal with the "drama" of people around me... It's tough being on the controls side of the business... You get to step on too many toes and some may have desperate means to get even... I guess I'm a marked man... then... now... and forever... but marked man or not, it's all part of the job... I have to do what is right...

Sometimes, I hate this job for all the people that makes it so difficult... anyway, all part of the training... I'm still a milestone short before I can go on a soul searching mission on what to explore... but I'm getting there and it's gonna be soon... but I guess, it's the spices that make life a bit exciting... I just feel I'm eating a red hot bowl of chili in my case... too spicy... hehe...

Well, the good part is that it's summer time and it means vacation time... and so that should be my ultimate mindset... and so I say, to any of their devious schemes... for all I care...

A Much Needed Dip

Finally, was able to hit a pool last Sunday via a visit in a small resort in Baraoas, Naguilian, La Union with Family... The heat wave has been at its peak as of late and dips like this is always welcome...

At the end of it all, I feel tired and weary... hmm.. let me retrace the factors... a bus ride home (comfortable deluxe bus)... waking up early (work all week, Saturday at Cemetery and Sunday at Resort) and a not so comfortable bus trip back (deluxe trip was fully booked)... Then there's all the cramming for tax returns... though the cool Baguio climate was prevalent during the weekend... Too bad wasn't able to maximize my sleep...

Yesterday, I had to rush a financial statement in time for the filing... (hehe... it reminds me of the busy seasons in SGV... ) and at least, it was finished on time... As soon as I got home. it's sleepyhead time... ZZZZZZZ

Which Do I Hate More???

After all this time, I finally saw an advantage of having multiple function... I get to have the advantage to choose which of my function do I hate more... hehe... On a more serious note, if I start hating what I'm doing, I can always choose to do another function...

There's the accounting part... Challenging, Complex and yet having to deal with the different quirks of the external auditors... I guess, I have a different perspective now about my former life from what I use to appreciate... and this is the function where I get grilled by the Board on the financials...

Finance part... sourcing funds, meeting banks, plant tours... Exciting and really nice to be able to apply some marketing and interpersonal skills... and the drawback, the pressure to raise funds is quite intense and of course, you get to deal with so many queries...

Treasury... Up to now, I'm still wondering how come I'm involved in this function as it is a thankless job, enemies develop when you implement controls... then there's allocating limited resources... but a learning experience I value...

But the bittersweet part of it is that aside from the 3 major functions above, there's so many admin jobs in between... It seems that I am probably using everything I've learned in the various disciplines in MBA... haay!!!1

So my little bit complicated life has gone a lot more complicated by the minute... but I guess I'll have to dwell on this little bit stressful life.... I'm missing my stress ball today... Come to think of it, most of my friends have their simple life to the next level so little less time to enjoy... but I guess, there's always a quality life we can squeeze in a stress-ridden life... It's just a matter of working hard and playing hard... =>

Heat Wave Again

It's been my second day of not having a long peaceful sleep because of the hot summer nights in Manila... Even with my aircon on, it still seems so difficult to have a nice cool temperature to accompany me at bedtime...

It's summer here and the beach has been an excellent idea... Have several getaway PLANS with both SGV and AGSB friends... but PLANS in all caps means not yet finalize... SGV friends, we still have to finalize our bookings... AGSB friends... we still have to find a common date (4 replies with all different dates...)

Anyway, I'm home bound to Baguio for the weekend (unless another lazy spell attacks similar to last week)... It'll be my Dad's 14th year death anniversary and we'll take the next day on a small resort in La Union... I really don't want to waste much weekends during summer time...

Then there's travel... AGM in Singapore (though a big part of me want to miss it completely... why??? Every time I see the minutes of meetings, I'm always the one grilled on the financials, controls and everything in between...) Though I guess I just have to enjoy the company of friends there... I have another travel alternative on May for vacation this time but I still have to finalize that...

And then the news that La Nina is about to hit town, makes me want to maximize my weekends while I still can... A rainy day summer is not a good summer for travel and the beach... So much have been said about the next few weeks but as for now, I'm off to another plant tour in Bataan... =>

The Great Big Chase...

A long day today with a plant visit to Bataan and Subic with Jing and Ms. Del and the Bankers... Incidentally, the CEO was also in town also bound for the same location but at a little bit different time.. It seemed like a game of hide and seek and a great big chase given our head start... It's not really that we are hiding from the CEO for anything else but it seemed cool playing cat and mouse with the big boss...

I did expect a long day with us visiting dual plant locations and all the presentations and discussions... I think I could easily shift now into production and marketing as handling the routine tours have me knowing more of the Group's operations... Maybe Jing can handle accounting on her own... A productive meeting...

And about the great big chase... from Bataan we went to Subic as our CEO was in Bataan... and logistically impossible to catch up but then technology has to take its toll with a phone call to deal with the some accounting issues... so ended up going back to the office to resolve the issue and to answer some bankers queries...

And it did appear like a big chase in the road with our driver being overly aggressive, which made the trip back and forth suspense filled... and then there's what you call regular Friday traffic... but at the end of the day, it's just nice to accomplish stuff... after a long day comes a long rest... but then again I have an early morning meeting to dwell with... so then can I have my long weekend rest... =>

Impersonal Franc

I am surprised to get reacquainted with my impersonal side coming from a conversation this morning... I know it's an over reaction but there was that tinge of hesitation from the other end on a minor favor... that made me alienate myself from a comforting presence for the rest of the day...

Nothing aimed at someone but myself... Cold Franc turns to do-it-all and don't seek help... That's my worry with Impersonal Franc... a little bit out of this world and on his own...

The tough times that came probably has taken most of my patience and my tolerance but no excuses... I'm still just a human being entitled to react and over react at times but on a good part, there'll always be a part of me that's warm, carefree and fully alive... and that's about 99% of me and for the 1% I'll let him have his time of day... but I'll have to say goodbye to Impersonal Franc shortly... No matter how impersonal I react, it's the warm accommodating presence that defines who I am... =>

On a Mental Blog

I remember the term mental block when you suddenly forget everything you studied on a major exam in school... Now, I'm on a mental blog that no matter how much my desire to blog, nothing seems interesting enough to write about...

In a phase of interlude right now... still tired on finishing a difficult job yet lack focus and energy to start a new phase... Numb from barely surviving a heartbeat-stopping deadline and having to go through an emotional roller coaster in the weeks that passed... and now, things have shifted to its lighter side even if I still have a list of to dos...

An at the very least, I can start penciling summer vacation as part of my things to do... but for now, my main to do is rejuvenate patience, energy, and all the lost time... and the summer time is a very rational excuse to escape... hide and seek for adults at its finest... back to my natural bakasyonista self... =>