The Year of The Franc... Part 4

It's the 4th year of my Year of the Franc blogs and every it's becoming more difficult if it was a good one or not... Though the landscape changes every time... the level of success higher which goes with a direct increase in the level of stress... and challenges...

2009 was not really a good year for most part with all the calamities that came but the fact that we're still standing at the end of it all is a nice feather in the cap on the test of resiliency... Bittersweet that's how things has been... And I guess that's we're it goes moving forward...

Travel is still on top of my list... Still stuck in those numerous foreign travels (3 times in Taiwan, 2 times in Cambodia, and China and Singapore) and this time I had my domestic destinations as my vacation spots (Bicol, Bohol, Davao and two trips to Bora). Had my vacation every time I had and even at work I did take a day or two to go around. Well, still nice to go around every now and then.

I was a little less spend thrift in 2009 (Ok, I was more on the impulsive buyer side)... It's an excellent stress reliever... hehe... At least, I did pamper my self as much as I could... but let me try to be more stingy in 2010... Oh well, just trying to live a life.

Work has been the usual emotional roller coaster I get to see on a day by day basis. A litlle lighter on the first part as I was able to resolve the funding issue late last year but real heavy towards the end of the year due to the super early deadline. Heavy is still such a light word on how I feel regarding work as of the moment... Really considering Bum Town alternative to the level of burn out I currently have right now but let me finish first the impossible deadline and I'll make up my mind by then... I'm looking for a change of environment...

Speaking of new environments, there's so much more to look forward to. There are some cycles ending and new ones unfolding... I'm seeing some things in a new light (=>)... and quite excited on working on a business venture that would be more in line with my skill set... I think 2010 is the time I shake things up and make some changes so it's gonna be a different year.

I'm ending on a note of Thanks as the year may be good or bad but it's the people who lend out time, a smile or a helping hand that I'd like to remember... Families always being there (sometimes via helicopter roving mode of always being there)... AGSB friends and our constant dinners and gimmicks... SGV friends on the get togethers and out of town trips... SLU, XCV and SLSC friends for being rediscovered via Facebook... People I worked with for the fun and challenging times... constant companions and new people and friends I get to meet everyday... A year won't be a year without people to share it with...

Happy New Year!!! Let's shake thins uo for 2010!!! =>

Thoughtless Thoughts: Stressville or Bum Town... =>

Christmas in the Middle of the Cold and the Bluewater

Merry Christmas to all!!!

I've been stucked in the middle of Stressville for most of the time leading to Christmas Day and probably still a foot in Stressville even during the holidays. I'm tired from all the pressure I have to live by and peace of mind is not something I can take home this year but I'm still trying to spend as much of the holiday without the scawl and pale expression I've been carrying the rest of the time.

Off to the cold weather at home. Nice crazy party at home (maybe noisy is an understatement). We weren't able to go with some usual traditional stuff but we'll just squeeze it in within the next few days. A good part of it was that I was able to maximize my sleep in the bus going home to Baguio. Hello cold weather (though it's also been cold in Manila last week). Christmas Mass and Dinner and then the gift giving (no more receiving since we're following a No Gift once you work policy). Oh well, let me bitterly say, it's better to give than to receive.

Shortly, we're off to Manila then to the bluewaters of Boracay for a few days there. I always love the view of the beach maybe it'll calm some of my anxiousness. Second trip to Bora this year so this one would be more on relaxation (did I say I'm bringing my laptop to be able to check on some work stuff??? sucks!!!). I'm trying my best to have fun but I'm sure it'll be fun. Technology has its ways to ease (or at times worsen) some workload.

Haay!!! Not in the best of times but not also in my worst of times... I guess that's a fair compromise given that I still have a deadline yet I still want to have fun. Christmas has its way bringing us home and meeting family and friends amidst the difficult circumstances. =>

Thoughtless Thoughts: It's always a difficult choice when you are torn with what you want to do and what you need to do.

The Last of My Charmed Days

It's my Inaanak Charm's advance third birthday and knowing that this would be the one of the last one I would be able to attend since the next one would be down under. The last of my charmed days... sigh... sigh... Oh Well... Down under will always be one of my favorite places, so I'll still get to see Charm from time to time...

Weird as it is, the first thing I did notice this year for Christmas are the not so good elements, traffic jams, jam-packed parking slots, the calorie overload that goes with too much gatherings, the long queues at the mall, the multitudes of gifts to buy... and so on... I'd like to appreciate the things that make Christmas a jolly time of the year (unfortunately it's not a jolly one right now)... You get to see friends (planned and coincidence) in their festive moods... Funny, how I kept bumping into friends last Friday and Saturday... Pleasant surprises... You get to see kids in singing their hearts out to the Christmas tunes... Eye catching decorations and landscapes that goes with the season... People tend to reach out more at this time of year... and then there's always the joy of giving...

Busy with work and fun that's how I describe my week. That's what happens when you get come up with an equation of an early deadline plus Christmas = One real tired Franc... Well worth it... Had my chance at meeting old colleagues (FAA, CPA, Tina, Vic, Arlyn) last Thursday... Met Diane, bumped into Anna for dinner and then Mark and Mina last Friday... Drive to Subic with Ruth and the Bumping into Ves... then Meeting Arnold, Jing, Chelsea and Ephz for Charm's Bday...

And the business has been at its peak in fact, I just realized that I have most of my people spread out all over just to ensure that we finish on time... I had to do some clerical stuff... Anything to get the job done... Unfortunately, we're put in a spot that leaves us no leeway for taking it easy... Let's see if we get to pull this difficult task...

It's less than five days before Christmas and add another day for a family Bora Trip... I hope the festive mood catches up with me by then... As of now, it's the sandman who caught me...ZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Thoughtless Thoughts: The best victories are those we get from the heels of defeat.

Fast Times in Slow Motion

The days are trickling in fast and yet each minute has been critical and valuable. Each moment is magnified with each tick of the clock - chasing to do's, catching deadlines and resolving unending riddles. Fast Times in slow motion... The days to go are limited and yet the task at hand is limitless.

The irony of fast being slow in congesting so much stuff in the limited time before the holiday. While the days are going by unnoticed, the level of effort and stress have felt like it's been ages already as if every stress-ridden moments has been accumulating by each drop of the sands of time.

A jolly feel of the season is yet an anxious event that has yet to come but at the least, I'm almost done with my Christmas chores... buying gifts, burdened by the Christmas traffic, attending and missing Christmas parties... and I guess, it's more of the wait that lies ahead. The sad part of it is the countdown that has taken my time and energy is my January deadline and not Christmas.

Anyway, there'll still be a lot of reason to smile... Amidst the busy times, I still am left with time to reconnect, relax and attempt to take another difficult task... shed some pounds in this dinner-infested season... there's also some chances to lend a helping hand every now and then.

This weekend has been a tiring one but at the end of it was a little time to pamper myself and knowing that the days are numbered before the holidays sets in, I know it won't be the best of times that awaits but who cares... even as good times, come and go, and so do difficult ones... A trying climb but there'll be a nice view after the long climb.

Thoughtless Thoughts: Each moment, good or bad, is an experience that defines what lies ahead so treasure each experience as they happen as they'll soon be part of history.

Patience My Dear Franc

This week and the following weeks would be a test of patience and I guess people won't let on and continue to be annoying and attention seeking. I guess it takes much effort to drag myself to work. The deadline is lurking and difficult as it is, there are some developments. Patience my dear Franc.

Also had the chance to meet up with 'rarely' seen SGV friends, Warna and Dodoy last week. Always a nice breather seeing friends on times like this. The jovial mood has set in and difficult as it is, I'll be trying to squeeze some time with family and friends. Work is work, friends are friends and family is family and the lines should be drawn and not let the eminent deadline dictate on me.

Speaking of the season. I'm glad I'm almost done with my Christmas shopping and awaiting the next urgency to finish up my Christmas chores. It would be better if I'm in the mood and not just feel obliged. I remember a scene in the Big Bang Theory I watched on the plane that a gift is also an obligation to reciprocate the thoughtfulness of the other party. I guess, it's really the thought that count.

Another item I did squeeze in this schedule was a quick visit to Baguio for a dental appointment and short as it was, I did appreciate having the cool weekend feel in the city of Pines. The cold days that made the place famous is back and I also had the chance to go through old school photos for my part in our elementary group site. Wait, I did have a rather unusual trip back home starting with almost missing the bus, having a snoring passenger nearby, and upon reaching home, home repairs so the not much sleep but the 9-11 degrees weather was well worth it.

And speaking of sleep, I better get one now to complete my weekend recharge.

Thoughtless Thoughts: When the glimmer of hope is bleak, then you got to believe.

Barely Blinking

I'm still reeling from a very tiring week and a long weekend that wasn't even a weekend. We had a quick visit to Cambodia to prepare for yearend closing which starts with a full day travel from Ph to Cambodia which includes an exciting prop plane ride from Vietnam (exciting may be an understatement). We survived!!!

We had to make do with the limited time and had another adrenalin-rush on our trip to Kampong Cham and back to Phnom Penh. In short, they drive real fast in this part of the world. Another thing on my to do list is to learn how to cross the road with multitudes of motorcycles rushing along the road. Not much really for this trip but we did have some progress on our 'to do' lists.

One item not on my to do list is pleasing know it alls whose sole purpose is to catch attention by endless non-sensical comments. Sarcasm has overtaken me since the last thing I'd want to hear is a self important individual giving comments when we've been practically throwing all our efforts from one place to another just making both ends meet and managing problems simultaneously from one country to another. I hope people are considerate enough to realize that we have better things to do than listen to eternal list of unneeded remarks.

Barely blinking that's how things have been and to the extent that I feel like a global slave these days catering to dilemmas from all corners. Well, I hope that all the spirit of Christmas shower all its might and swing me to the jovial mood of the season. At least even if I'm still asking "Spirit of Christmas, where are you?," I've already started my Christmas shopping and hoping that family and friends do pull me in the season. Let the festivities commence.

Excess Inkblogs: My heart bleeds for what happened in Maguinadanao. It sad that so many people had to die but it makes me a hundredfold sadder that there are people who are heartless enough to commit such act.

A Week so Fast

I barely noticed the week bleep by... So much of things to be done, so little time... I guess it's how things are gonna be until my deadline date but at least, the plans are starting to emerge...

A packed week... 1 day spent in the plant... 2 lunch treats... 1 standards training... 1 airport pickup... and 1 great party with AGSB friends... The short part of the week and the rest is the frenetic race to finish as much as I can...

The rush is a bit tiring as it is and one of the reason I feel the day is now shorter is that I get so drained for other stuff after work... I'll get used to this but next stop, a trip to Cambodia tomorrow would be another test of energy...

A week so fast but at least it ended on a festive note... Good Earth with AGSB friends and its always nice to reconnect and you got to appreciate times like this amidst all the busy times and stressful moments... It's always fun being with AGSB friends...

And speaking of reconnecting, I still haven't been much in the loop in the recently established group site among my elementary batch mates... I'm still working on my prequel and will post it soon... Those memories are still being unearthed in the deeper part of my mind as of the moment...

Spent the remaining part of the week, earning my first planner... A slower paced this year since we now have a brewed coffee supply in the office... Oh well, I never get to use the planner anyway... I guess I so much live by the day that I don't get to plot the to do's of tomorrow...

And tomorrow is a full day for travel in another week that'll be so fast...

Excess Inkblogs: I just have some comments on the new route coming from the airport. Having the U-Turn slot before was a tinge of insecurity to showcase the new terminal 3 but to extend the U-turn lost to Villamor is just crazy.... Why??? Simple, three airports + commercial area = heavy traffic... I don't even want to go to the statistics on how many people arrive by the hour which has to pass through that area...

Thoughtless Thoughts: You don't make an impact standing still waiting, you make an impact by taking the first of many steps.

My SLSC Prequel: A Trip to Ancient Past

Elementary, my dear friend... the formative years that transforms young kids to old kids... Let me start everything with the word "fear." Outside of family, we had to deal with the idea of an authority figure in front of us and we did encounter punishments along the way, be it being reprimanded as noisy to being cleaners or even to the extreme by being in the squat position or getting hit in the arm. We had faculties ranging from the friendly, the motherly and who could forget, the terror ones.

The carefree life. Recess and lunch were a time for a game of sipa, touch the body and the of course, Washington. It had sections ranged against each other and would entail a lot of team work, and at times a bit of violence but who cares, it's quite satisfying to make a run towards captured classmates to make the save and at the end of it all, it still is a friendly game and then we have to answer to our teachers why we are dripping in perspiration.

Funny how world expands as we grow older. Living from a small room to a bigger playground. Transitioning from home to a whole new playground and growing up in such an environment where we develop our first few sets of friends, partners of mischief, attempts at leadership and responsibility and a lot of subjects you get to learn and get to forget after each of the year. At least, you have the next year to look forward to who your classmates are gonna be.

1991 signaled an end to this era but not before some earth shaking event - A 7.7 quake in 7/16/1990 that had us living of the streets for a few months and a graduating elementary bunch with no idea on when they would eventually be back to school and finish their remaining elementary months. A brilliant coincidence that this happened on a daylight saving time (d'life saving time according to my Dad then) since we were off to home early or else who knows if we're still in the confides of school. The short part of the story is that we finish the remaining months and officially became SLSC batch 1991.

The next encounter: A reunion 4 years later aptly titled intensity 7.7 and the stage was a hotel and this time old kids are now in mid-teens. Now, that the group has been resurrected after almost 20 years from our elementary days. The next encounter will definitely be something to look forward to, the comparison with then and now will be something interesting and though I haven't made much noise yet, I'm glad to visit the site and just check on what's up in the lives of the friends and people that made up my elementary life.

10 years and counting...

The week started with me debuting new look on new times... a little fresher... cleaner and easily managed look... leaves more time for other stuff like a look in the past...

Blast from the past also had extreme twist... and this was more of ancient past... SLSC page on facebook... Almost twenty years after elementary and the old pictures are there but memories are still just slowly creeping in... and I'll catch up in time but it's always fun reading threads and looking at old photos... I can't wait for my turn to unearth some of those relics in albums stored in the confines of home but before I count down my steps home... There's still a deadline to chase...

I better get used to the roller coaster of emotions that the pressure-packed moments leading to a deadline... Dead-tired on Monday from a plant visit in Subic and Bataan... Surprise on Tuesday... Strategizing on Wednesday... Sick on Thursday... and De-stress via midnight madness on Friday... and then came the time to recharge on the weekend...

Today not only had Pacquiao beating the hell out of Cotto (all places are packed so just watched via mobile screening and good part was my phone could handle the high-definition screening)... It's also my 10th year of being part of the workforce being November 15, 1999 when I started my career as an audit staff... The 10 years seemed longer given the extended work hours in audit and the level of stress leaving a double life as a student and employees and the bigger responsibilities that followed... That's a milestone 10 years of working and considering my walk out anytime persona... It's quite a feat!!!

How do you measure 10 years??? Is it on the funds you accumulated??? Not much, I can say... Is it the places you've been??? Ok, flying colors here... Is it the levels you've traversed??? More than expected on this criteria... The people you meet??? Good network from day 1... Degrees obtained??? Yipee, I got MBA... Properties invested??? Not good on this department...

Well, there's so much ways to measure 10 years but I'd like to say, it's 10 years I'd live the same way again... and again... and again... It's now part of history as I look forward to the next 10 years and beyond... Life's lessons learned that'll guide me in the next step to take... and the journey continues...

Thoughtless thoughts: "Life is not always fair but that doesn't mean you should stop trying."

Mission Impossible Begins

Wake me up!!! This is just a sick joke or a bad dream!!! Taking away full 45 days from my previous deadline is unprecedented but needed move - A task bordering in the realm of impossibility. So here we are again attempting another feat which honestly still entangled with the thought on how it can be done.

So be it!!! Waking up and thinking it is just a sick joke or bad dream is no longer an option. The thin line of relief comes with the idea that there are just time that we discover how the answer to the riddle as we go along and that difficult it may be but there's always a better way. The sad truth sinking in that this requires a plan, flawless execution and team play.

Mission impossible begins!!! The first steps have been taken in Taiwan and the path leads to Bataan on Monday and Cambodia by month-end. I'm starting to be more upbeat as the minute goes by as the challenge have been set and the intellectual marathon is ongoing on on improbable deadline. There's always a strong will and a little optimism that good fate would intercede.

Despite the tough road, it'll be crossed in joyful times with Christmas holidays just around the corner. It'll still be a happy new months and maybe this is just another roadblock to stir the tide to better days and stronger people once everything has been said and done. It'll be critical, It could be heart-beat stopping, it could lead to a lot of headaches but everything can be done if we start finding answers instead of raising more questions.

It's been an interesting past few days with the usual pressure packed moments preparing for the board and delivering presentation. The times you question if this is still the things you want to do and the effort involved in doing it. The endless craving for easier times. All this have to wait till mission possible is over. It's now a case of looking ahead and taking a step at a time and who knows. mission impossible may just be possible.

Thoughtless Thoughts: Impossible is just another word of not trying too hard.

Stress Ball Mode

Cramming for requirements of board meeting has taken up bulk of my time lately and a few hours before my departure, I'm still not ready to leave but this will pass and it'll be fine. I was requested to rebook my flight today but I guess I was not comfortable enough on the requirements so the thought of rebooking never entered my mind. It makes it a lot tougher that the board meeting had to fall at an early date and in the middle of the all soul's day weekend. The good part was that I was able to spend a weekend at home even if I felt that the weekend seem packed and the travel time going back to Manila was such a long with all the traffic.

Cramming is not really my department and to think we had finished the bulk of the report early but I guess there were several items to iron out. Oh well, the stress ball times will be over soon. No amount of preparations can't please people who refuse to appreciate and it leads me to a quote from Anton Ego in the movie Ratatouille:

"In many ways, the work of a critic is easy. We risk very little yet enjoy a position over those who offer up their work and their selves to our judgement. We thrive on negative criticism, which is fun to write and to read. But the bitter truth we critics must face is that, in the grand scheme of things, the average piece of junk is probably more meaningful than our criticism designating it so. "

Well, all my bags are packed and I'm not ready to go but what the heck. Happy days are ahead and from what I see in store for this month, it's gonna be a great month and the days to Christmas are dwindling so the good times will come so I leave it at that and then there's another important thing to do before I leave, it's too catch some sleep. Need all the energy for yet another stressful stretch ahead.

Thoughtless thoughts: "An open mind can always thrive even in diversity."

Mac and Mi

After months of thinking of buying a Macbook, I finally had the will to buy one over the weekend and it's a relearning process the whole weekend. I still have so many questions on how to maximize the features of Mac at the lowest cost. I guess, I'll get my answer in time. At the least, I'm now able to use the regular internet functions, update Itunes and update audio and video codecs. How to come up with applications at the cost-efficient manner, this I have to learn yet.

Also, was able to get my customized Adidas Mi early this week in its purple and gold colors and I like it. The personalized feel... I did choose colors that is not easy too pair with other shoes but I'll find a way to mix and match. It was a nice surprise last Monday that my Adidas Mi was available after 2 full weeks of waiting and I got it at 50% discount at that time.

It's not my ordinary week but the pressure has been mounting for the requirements for the upcoming board meeting. Busy times are here though it was nice to squeeze some time to meet up with She and other friends last Tuesday. The deadline has been tighter given that there'll be a holiday before I leave so finished or unfinished, pass your papers at the end of the month. It's gonna be another tough week... Haay!!!

There's always a function of pride in the equation that no matter how stressful the times, I still will try to do the job within office hours. No extra time for work. In fact, I have packed some of my stuff for the gym tomorrow as I await my coding cutoff. Need to unload some calories. I was a bit sluggish and sick last week so might as well, try to be healthy this week.

And part of being healthy is catching some sleep... ZZZZzzzzzzzzz.....

Thoughtless Thoughts: "We always try to find short cuts yet there is always something we gain by taking the long hard road."

What Weekend???

I barely noticed the weekend pass by as I felt it was so short though I did enjoy most of it. Makes me wonder, "What weekend???"

It was a good thing this week that I was able to reintroduce exercise in my daily routine and just as I was making progress the came the weekend. Let's see... Kamayan for dinner on Fridays with Cousins. Dads for lunch on Saturday with friends and Breakfast meeting in Fraser Place on Sunday. Well, back to square one at least, there's effort in being healthy - small gains. I still feel less bloated compared to last week.

The holiday spirit is fast rushing in with malls starting to offer their holiday sale and then the obvious it was an expensive weekend as well. The malls were packed with people and also I'm lucky enough to be able to avoid GB5 on Sunday morning where there was a robbery and shootout took place. It was a good thing I wanted to change clothes after coming from office or else it could have been traumatic.

It was also nice to share some time with friends for Anna's Birthday treat at Dad's Megamall which was a well attended event (Anna, Me, Arlyn, Mark and Ria). A well attended event is one which is attended by people who rarely attends (Peace Mark and Ria). It's synchronizing each other timeline as it's been years seeing seeing the others and now, we're on the same page, we can set out new events in the timeline.

Then there are missed events. I missed my chance to try to reconnect with another friend from a different time but I did excert much effort. Not the right time. On a brigther note, She is homebound and Mike would finally be back in Makati so there would be some friends to meet next week and it's also gonna be a busy week as we start our preparation for the board meeting.

It's the final hours of my weekend and I just hope I won't notice the weekdays and say, "What weekdays?" =>

Thoughtless Thoughts: "We can't always control our emotions but we can always control our reaction."

Blue Week

Two things that stood out this week is the back-and-forth rampage of Typhoon Pepeng and the other one is Blue Thursday wherein Ateneo Juniors and Seniors team bagged the championship in their respective divisions.

The first a continuous saga of disasters that came every week and I'm sad that my hometown is ravaged and isolated but I'm glad my family and friends are safe. The problem now is after all the rains where now overflowing with water. I did ask this question, do we still have 7,107 islands??? When all else does not fall into place, hope remains and whatever positive juice left in me, I'm leaving that to aspire that the path of destruction is over and it's time to rebuild.

Almost overlooked by the craziness around, it was an outstanding feat that Ateneo High School and College teams was able to score back to back championship with the clincher made on the same day. Victory is always sweet and this time I was able to attend Ateneo's championship bonfire and one message did stick out, the event was for celebration and the next step was continue rebuilding the nation.

There's also the scent of busyness lurking around with the upcoming board meeting but I'm glad I'm still able to meet my raffle friend* during the week. (*A raffle friend is so hard to contact & chances of a received call is similar to a lottery). I also hope to squeeze some time to exercise a bit and attempt to lose weight. Good luck to me but at times, stress makes me lose weight and with an upcoming board meeting. Stress is on my side. The new games in Wii Fit Plus makes exercise a bit interesting.

A good part of the week is looking forward and I hope the weather forecast is correct that it's gonna be a fine weather as the sun is much needed now and from a blue week, I hope to see the yellow rays of the sun. =>

Excess Inkblogs: Happy Birthday Princess Sioberella!!!

Nature's Warning

The week had a series of events that heightened the need to reassess our ways to be more conscious with our environment. A typhoon delivering a month's worth of rainfall ravaging several countries along its path... A tsunami affecting an island... Series of earthquakes causing much damage and scare to the South East Asia region... and a super typhoon still pounding its wrath... I hope the list stops here as there's much needed time to heal.

A strong statement that some acts of man have been disrupting the balance of nature... Dark clouds have been hovering and the clear skies is a distant memory... Hope remains that the resilient nature of people will be strong enough to get past this and once we are done licking our wounds, there's a task at hand in making the world a better place...

A lot of time and resources have been spent in reaching a helping hand to those in need and yet I feel bad that amidst all the goodwill there's still people who are wasting resources in smear campaigns and then there are some delays caused by the bureaucracy. There's always a time element to consider . The dynamics has changed and I hope that the system would adopt to the times and let help flow through those who need it as soon as possible.

Just since I'm in the mood of whining, I find the influx of political ads on TV right now annoying. Candidates carrying their department in their ad makes me think... Is their department rich enough to come up with ads at this time of needs or these candidates philanthropic enough to promote their departments with their personal ads??? Either way, I don't think this is the time to flood us with those ads designed to condition the voters mind that they are such credible people... I guess the voters should be smarter...

So much for dwelling on those stuff... There's so much reason to smile amidst all the disaster... Majority are now so involved in reaching out and united in the hope that better times are ahead... There should be a rainbow after all the rain... =>

September Ends

"A little of everything makes a big difference."

We learned so many of life's lesson in the past few days of September and I hope that lessons learned may not just be a tragic stamp of history but rather a reminder that there is long path to making the country a safer place. The sign shows that there is hope with each person reaching out deep in his pocket and trying to do as much as they can to help alleviate the difficulties lurking around. People are nice by nature amid all the complications and pretensions the world has to offer and their compassionate nature has radiated so brightly the past few days and this should be a good first step.

"Life is simple if you know how to value the main essentials."

My friend asked me what I'd save in case of a calamity. My answer was simple, I'd save myself first and the people with me and I care about. If I have to choose certain items, I'd go with my wallet, phone and some food to increase my chance of survival. Wallet for contingencies, phone for contingencies and food for nourishment. If there were more time, I would do what an auditor do in an inventory count, go for the high valued items. Life's choices are simple if you know what you want.

"The Path of Wisdom Lies Within"

I'm recently on a fortune cookie overload just trying to find a certain bit of wisdom on how to motivate myself which has been lacking as of late. I figure that the load is twice as heavy when you don't feel like doing it. I somehow hit certain peak in my immediate goals and made it difficult to look for new goals. I realized that I'm the type of person who always wants to shake things up... always looking for new milestones to finish... and searching new beginnings... That's just who I am... I'm not someone who rest complacently and just go with the flow... Always ready to step up or step forward to another direction... I think that's how fast the world revolves no, change is so constant that adoptabilty to situation is much needed... That's my motivation... Flexibility amidst the changing dynamics... and new beginnings will come in time...

Speaking of new beginnings, it's gonna be a new month shorty.

Thoughtless Thoughts: "It's better to give than to receive but always leave some for yourself cause if you give too much, you lose a part of who you are and become incomplete"

Trapped in MOA

This is a first being stuck away from home on the heels of a devastating calamity and while the moral of the story is that better stay at home when there is a incoming typhoon, I guess this was still a nice experience to note down.

We have planned a Tagaytay getaway for the weekend as part of Arlyn's birthday celebration but upon picking up Arlyn and Ruth (Anna was lucky enough to pass on today due to an exhaustive work schedule), we decided to shift someplace nearer due to the rains. We decided on Mall of Asia and just a few hours in MOA, we got SMS on the various floods in the Metropolis. TRAPPED!!! Main strategy: Movie Marathon til the floods are out. Breakfast, lunch, two movies and still the rains and the floods are there. The mall closed earlier though still a lot of people were stranded. My phone's battery is n rapid decent with all the updates on the road conditions.

Dark misty skies... unending rain... and people trapped in a mall with shops and stalls closed... It seemed like a perfect centerpiece for a Zombie movie. How to survive a zombie invasion??? That isn't really the dilemma but how to survive for hours in the mall without much to do. It served as a nice time to catch up and just bond and if I had to be stuck in a mall, I'm glad I am amidst friends. If you were stuck in a mall, who would you want to be with??? hehe... Had to conserve my battery by just using SMS and no mobile Facebook (that's a difficult task) and had to stock up on foods and drinks. It was nice that there were still shops that are open.

Come to think of it, we were real safe that we were trapped in a mall instead of some place else as this was the biggest rainfall in decades and probably in my lifetime and this has already caused so much havoc around the country. I realized another aspect which I haven't paid much attention to... Some resources are limited (e.g. food, communication and transportation) and the limited nature of some items makes them real important. The little things make big difference and are needed to be valued.

We had our escape a few minutes before midnight. The roads were dark, the flood was tolerable but the traffic was still a bit terrible. We had our way home a little past midnight and I was glad to be home... and being trapped no more.... =>

Thoughtless

Over the weeks I have tried to come up with thoughtless thoughts and I did enjoy coming up with ideas on just about anything. It wasn't always the typical thoughts but it was certainly ideas I do believe in - something true and something aligned to my emotions and experiences.

I have run out of ideas. "Thoughtless." The problem was everything was starting to become a routine. A half-awake zombie just trying to survive the day and surviving was a tough task - always a test of patience. I should find new goals and new ways at getting things done and keeping things exciting. I was somewhere in between taking big steps and staying in a familiar comfort zone but a step forward would always be a welcome change.

The middle ground was always a safe place but I guess, we don't always have to be safe. There are risk to takes for rewards to gain. A simple formula that life's rewards are borne out of the risk we take. I decided to shake things a bit and a thought stood out...

Thoughtless Thoughts: "Sometimes we should just let go and let the hands of fate take us to where we should be."

Excess Inkblosgs: I think I'm done with my thoughtless state. Normal mode now.

And Yet Another Long Weekend...

I'm getting used to this... 4th Long weekend in 5 weeks... Can I compress my work hours in 4 days??? haha...

This one was spent mostly unlocking the Lost Symbol by Dan Brown... and midway to the book I had a hunch on one of the mystery in the book and by the end of the story, the hunch was proven to be right... I'm not sure if I was smart enough to unlock the mystery so soon or it was a bit obvious... well, I still did enjoy spending most of the weekend just reading a book... It's one of the challenges I wanted to surpass... It's really difficult reading a book with all the technology around...

Spent Friday @ Nommu for Mascy's birthday... Nice to meet some friends and it's been quite some time since I last saw them... and the next would probably be after a few months with so many people on their exodus vacation to US... Thank PAL for their promo months ago... Too bad, I wasn't book a vacation of my own... but I'll have my time for my own vacation... Enough miles for Oz next year and let's see if I can have Europe as the next destination... Well, that's still a busy season ahead so I'll leave it at that... I'm still trying to squeeze in various Ph destination in the short run...

Then I still have several major expenditures to think about before the end of the year... To Mac or not to Mac??? Should I get a Macbook??? and also thinking of Camera Upgrade... oh well, I still have a few months to make up my mind... or better yet, a few more months to convince myself to save instead... hehe...

And yeah another thought to think about, it's back to work tom... =<

Excess Inkblogs: Happy Birthday She (Sept. 22) and Arlyn (Sept. 24)

Thoughtless Thoughts: "Doing one's job doesn't always bring smiles and laughter for the simple reason that there are always other things that can make us happy..."

Baul Wars

I was real torn on a taking a weekend trip to Baguio or just spend another lazy weekend in Makati... Eventually decided to go for the former... on account of two reasons... 1) replenish our coffee supply and 2) unearthing old pics straight from the "Baul" and trigger a new round of Baul Wars...

It was raining real hard in the city of Pines which combined to the breezy feel translate to such a cold weather... Maybe just a reminder on how I did grow up and loved this place... and aside from the sleep... spent most of Saturday afternoon shifting from one album to another searching for old pics... and to my surprise this was real fun to do... going back to all those memories that are now part of history... and I guess, today's stories are better told with what happened yesterday...

Knowing that I'd probably spend the whole time at home, I was tasked to buy dinner which was a visit at Luisa's Cafe in Session Road... we loved the sweet sauce of their Asado meat their... and desserts... Sans Rival at Sizzling Plate... to date this is still the best one I had... Food of recent past was the flavor of the day with Pork Chop Fried Rice at Marosans... the sweet turon in the corner of New Lucban and T-Alonzo... and the street foods along the way from Bonifacio Road to Session Road... My trail ended at the top of the City, SM for a few items to shop... and the view was just fog all over the place... wanted to walk back home but the cold weather and the rain had me calling for a cab and off to home...

Took the midnoon trip back to Manila... Hoping that the weather goes with me... but with the frequent rains, the heat is tolerable... and though a short visit, it reminded me on why it was a nice place to visit... It still owns an enviable cool weather...

And tomorrow, backlash from the Baul pics posts... hehe... and I'm doing something I haven't done in a month... go to work for 5 straight days as there is no holiday this week... =>

iBlog: Another Monday I Don't Hate

Blogging at midnoon in Starbucks in Gbelt via my iPod is a good sign that This is another Monday I don't hate. Four tiresome days of work and to my surprse another long weekend. The usual sleep all you can type wherein the rainy weather is a perfect backdrop to a visit in dreamsville but on the contrary decided to be a bit healthy this week with a visit to the gym - a place where my lazy bones hasn't seen for ages. Badminton time on Sunday was missed on account of oversleeping. I'm spending my Another I don't hate Monday finishing up some chores and errands. Then there's the usual spending spree during weekends. My funds are so screwed. At least, it's fit and lazy long weekend. Tomorrow is another Tuesday I'm gonna hate. =>

I Don't Hate Mondays on Holidays

Second straight long weekend... and compared to the previous one... This one was a lazy one... Quite expected for back to back long weekend... and this one was more to recharge... Maybe to boost tourism, they shouldn't have back to back long weekends as the average worker can't afford to splurge for two straighht weeks...

A lazy weekend after a less than explosive week... just the routine closing... though we're a bit delayed... I hope we can catch up and people to step up to finish the job... Finish or not finish start the next month... Yeah, I did drop by Blue Wave last Wednesday... Most part of the weekend was spent at bedside though I did go to the mall to save on electricity at home... hehe... Gbelt last Saturday(shopping)... Mall of Asia and Rockwell on Sunday (We did set the high score in Virtual Soccer in MOA Science Discovery Center and had my much needed haircut in Rockwell.)... and Gbelt again on Monday (I am the first official shooper in Gola in Gbelt, my purchase included a picture taking session as their first ever customer)...

I tried to stay away from work over the weekend but there are some minor disturbance (I-blind item ko na lang daw sya)... hehe... at least, it did have me lift a muscle... Oh well, some processes are meant to disturb me for a lifetime even outside the confines of audit... Then there were the long list of planned items that didn't push through... cleaning my room... going to the gym... lazer tag... and meeting some friends for movie (one of my friend was a hero on national heroes day and decided to work... hehe)... There will always be other weeks for that...

For a change, I don't hate Mondays on holidays... having the time to organize my Itunes folder... Photos... Application... before eventually going to the afternoon mall... beats those barely awake Mondays at the office... and in a few minutes, it'll be Tuesday... A few hours left it's gonna be back to work... waaaahhh.... I hate Tuesday this week... =>

Excess Inkblogs: It's that 100th year foundation of my home town, Baguio City and I am sure the festivities are already under way. It's been over 10 years now since I use to reside in the city of Pines and the place is so much different. The place that use to be the cleanest and greenest is no longer deemed as such. I've heard so much unpleasant news - market getting burned down, some issues on peace and order and a lot more I'd rather not dwell upon. I hope the higher ups there are starting to make things better. I guess, year 101 would be critical to uplift the city's image and I hope it does, cause it'll always be the place I will call home.

Touring Davao

A short planned trip and after not much thought, we booked our trip August 21-23... Not knowing that it would fall at the same time at Kidayawan Festival... That explains the long queues in the airport and the overbooked airlines...

Had fun this time with a chance to tour the place... and appreciate the food... and the festival... Day 1... Lunch at Ranchero's (Nice Crispy Pata and Giant Size Bulalo)... Tour of Eden Nature Park (Had my Zipline Sky Ride here amidst the cold foggy skies... Fun^2)... Crocodile Farm (Pangil is enormous)... Day 2... Pearl Farm (Nice view at the inifnity pool)... and top view of Davao in Jack's Ridge... Day 3... Buffet at Nanay Bebengs (I love the Chicharon Bulaklak)...

Lots of fun and calories gained... but well worth it... I guess my travel itinerary this year has been split even between local and foreign trips... It was great to appreciate the Philippines... Tired from all the touring... Have sore left foot which I hope gets well tom as I was practically limping the whole day in my trip to Bataan and Subic...

Well, too bad that long weekends have to end and work has to resume but I just hope my foot heals soon... I'd really don't want to be a sight of pity limping in the office... I have my goodnight's rest and hope things are well tom... fingers crossed...

Excess Inkblogs: I have suddenly entertained some thoughts lately... I just feel it may be the right time to move on as things are a lot more stable... yet I'm still uncertain with the choices I have to make... So, it's wait and see...

Thoughtless Thoughts: We have to make most of what we have, cause when it's gone... it may be gone forever...

D Day

Half Day to go before I take off for our family vacation in Davao... It really won't be my first time here but given just a little glimpse at a very large city... I guess it'll be the first time, I'm really gonna explore the place...

Maybe a good place to cool down... after all, I am still in war mode... Well, the short story of it was that I was given a verbal notice about staying only until 530 pm but some people who are too occupied just ticking the number of times I move out of the office... the part that I am pissed off is that my official time schedule is only up to 530 pm... How dare them accuse me without checking my official time schedule... Staying isn't an issue here actually, I would work extra hours when needed or be accessible 24/7 where ever I am in the world but to assume things and accuse people without proper verification... it's personal...

I said my piece in an email I drafted in the most civilized manner but I am now on guard for idle people just there to see my tiniest mistake... I'll never be a model employee candidate but I've paid my dues... I am not bothered as I have delivered time and again and if things go worst, I always am ready to move on... I have done my part and would now let people do their jobs... It's just scary that self-gratifying individuals whose KPIs are just to please the boss and whatever cost...

I guess there's so much steam to blow off... but I'd leave it at that... I said my piece and would take my vow of silence but would continue to defend myself or my people for any further attacks... I guess I am not anymore a nice guy who just take a beating without a word... I am also glad that when it comes to the choices I made, I didn't stick with the obvious choices but the ones I believed in... and I haven't really had my feet firmly planted on the ground and taking a new step won't be difficult...

Anyway, the fun part... The world is so small in gbelt... After watching a movie, I bumped into Carol and Jason... then saw Eunice and then Arlyn before joining my sister back for dinner... Nice bumping into people after a long day... maybe just to find some peace to a war-mode day... Always a fan of coincidence...

Slightly turning off my war-mode though I'm on the alert on possible attempts... Glad to say that I'm not always a nice guy and that I can stand firmly on my convictions... Holiday mode slowly setting in and that D Day is setting in... Hello Davao... =>

Excess Inkblogs: This is more on whining blog but I definitely say, the next one is gonna be fun... Not my cup of tea being a scrutinized celebrity at work...

Thoughtless Thoughts: Idle minds have meager goals...

My Weekend Blast

Weekday: Drowsy Monday... So so Tuesday... Marooster sighting and Little Quiapo on Wednesday... Lax Thursday and Plant Tour Friday...

Weekend was a blast!!! Friday night party at Grilla for Eunice and Don Owen's Bday celebrations... Fun... food... Alcohol... Enlightenment... Met some friends again... and a lot lot more alcohol... Meeting AGSB friends has been a bit rare as of late... blame it to everybody having an upgrade of responsibilities and to dos.... The night was a blast and ended at the wee hours of the morning...

Morning was a blast from the past as I finally got in touch with an old friend, I've been trying to call for weeks... not much talk but it does break some ice... Still sleepy from last night's blast... Next was the banana blast... as I attended the launch of The Banana Experience launch at festival mall... Nice food they have... Congrats to Jay and Mascy for a very successful brainchild of a business... Movie at night and finally some rest...

Lazy Sunday blast as I barely had the effort to rise from my bed after all the events the past few days... I did exert a little effort cleaning my room and I was also able to sneak a time at the mall to buy some stuff and next stop was Ateneo vs La Salle LIVE... at home... waah no tix this time!!! A great game by the Eagles as they blasted the Archers with a 23 point win... Talk about a blast...

I'm looking to go to sleep a bit early to avoid my Cranky Franky sleepy spell on Mondays... and next week is gonna be a short one... with a holiday on Friday and will be spending the long weekend in Davao... Yipee!!! Can I move forward to my next weekend blast??? =>

Thoughtless Thoughts: The Future can lead as to so many directions but the present is where we take those steps that brings us there... Live by the day and not on the burden that tomorrow brings...

Next Weekend Please

Sluggish on a Monday as expected with a very packed weekend... And if I had I may, I'd like to Zoom past and proceed to the next weekend... I guess, it was meant for me not to control my time as I have a mentality of a lazy sloth... I would end up just bumming around...

The bright side of things is that those busy days are over for the mean time and there's enough time to recharge all those energy lost during the deadline chase... Will try to maintain a mix of domesticated weekdays and fun weekends... Still have some things to do for the week but I'm now in anticipation of the weekend...

Mindset has change... Slowly recovering my travel appetite and in two weeks time... Will be spending the long weekend in Davao... and still thinking on what to do the succeeding long weekend... Baguio day centennial approaching... or someplace again or maybe out of the country... think... think... think...

I'm really jumping past the weekday... Several reports to finish... 2 plant tours... movies to watch and some friends to me and birthday celebrations to attend... and maybe a lot more in between... Maybe there's some bright spot this week...

Monday... Sleepy and sluggish... and too tired to work... Can I just say... Next weekend please...

Excess Inkblogs: I'm just thinking aloud, I just wonder if today's generation are trained to be ADHD or having so little attention span... Just imagine all the hand held devices that take away all the attention from conversations...

Thoughtless Thoughts: It is not winning arguments that matter but making sense in arguing at all...

Long Tiring Weekend but Worth It

I usually have a laid back weekend in the past few months but not this one... as the weekend was packed with events and it couldn't come at a better time... Board meeting over and unwinding and having fun is on top of the list... Work hard done... now it's time to play hard...

Friday... Attended a party at Sulok in Tiendesitas... came late and nice to see some Ateneo friends... Nice party and nice to have a touch of street foods, which I've been craving for after 5 days in China... Back home to recharge a bit for the Saturday...

Saturday... Met up with Anna and Arlyn at Gbelt... A full meal at Chateau and coffee and Dessert at Cafe Breton... Had some catching up as I haven't been in touch with my SGV friends for some time... Had a nice time even at the limited time... but there'll be more to come... Next stop was Duty Free... Chocolates... Perfumes and some groceries... Suddenly had a craving of Cadbury's Violet Crumble, which is not really available in this part of the world... I remember bringing more than 10 packs home last year when I went to Australia... We'll there where nice promotions... I guess partly due to fewer volume of travellers shopping... Now have a nice relaxation sofa with speaker care of M&Ms... Drop by a bit in Rockwell then off to Home...

Sunday... This was spent at the Upper A bleachers in Araneta cheering for Ateneo in Round 1 of Ateneo vs. La Salle UAAP games... It's really a different experience watching it live... and being a hard fought match that saw some kicking... and limping and it needed an extra time to decide the winner.... and thankfully, it was the Eagles who won... A consolation to La Salle though was that they had the better Cory shirt... Dinner at Jack's Lost in Eastwood then off to Home...

And catch some sleep... a long tiring weekend comes to an end... but it was well worth it... Now, to skip the next few days and start the next weekend... =>

Hello Philippines... Hello World... I'm Back!!!

There's a big downside of the five days I was in China... No Facebook, Twitter, Blogspot and Multiply... So even at this late hour I'm still online and catching up on lost times and glad to be home finally... Hello Philippines!!! Hello World!!! I'm back!!!

The trip started with a pleasant surprise... bumping into Rowan in the same flight going to Hong Kong... though it was short or else I would be clogging the passing lanes, I do appreciate seeing one of friends from SGV who I don't see often... It was a short layover in HK and then off to Hangzhou...

Lucky to be able to arrive a bit earlier in Hangzhou as we had some time to go around the West Lake though it was a bit misty and smoggy to appreciate the view... Must be a better Sunset and Sunrise view with such a wide lake... Then pretty much the usual stuff except for some witty remark from me on using a stress band to survive querry-a-minute director.

Board Meeting... Not much fireworks... but did dress the part with a black long sleeve polo with orange lines matched with an orange tie... If you can't beat them, outdress them... hehe... Come to think of it, it was more of the color of halloween... Able to survive as usual but one thing I've noticed this one took so much of my patience preparing... I just wonder at this pace, might there come a time that all the good and understanding side of me be gone for good???

That's something I have to replenish during the lighter times... Finished some issues in Hangzhou and off to a few hours road trip to Shanghai, which was spent checking on some HO issues... Hay... And on my way back, I did see that there was a Hangzhou Polar Ocean Park... Must have been fun to see an actual Polar Bear???

Next stop was Shanghai Finance... Finished everything early afterrnoon which gave me the opening to go around in the afternoon... Sky Scraper hopping in the afternoon with a visit to the TV Tower which is now dwarfed by the taller Jin Mao Tower and the Shanghai World Financial Center... There must be a race to the sky among Shanghai buildings as the Shanghai tower under construction will even be higher than this two structures... Waited for Sunset at the Bund and at nightfall wherein the bund with its bright lights becomes such a nice attreaction...

Today, I had full morning but was too tired to go around so check out and took an early cab to the airport... which was a bit different from my original plan on taking the high speed train, which could have brought me to the airport in 8 minutes, instead of the 40 plus minutes by cab... again too tired to explore and I already tried it before...

TIRED has been such a common word... now to revisit the word... REST...

Thoughtless thoughts: If you're a diamond, you'll always be a diamond... No need to tell people you're a diamond... cause you'll just stand out.

Why Bother???

I thought this week was supposed to be smooth sailing as I was able to wrap up most of my requirements last week... but then some changes were incorporated that took some time and left me having several extended hours at the office... just waiting for the snail paced decision making... End result: 3 pounds less from going home all drained and lost my appetite. Good or bad??? I'm still torn.

It was frustrating yesterday as I had to return to the office after a long plant tour with bankers just to finish the figures... I can't believe people up there weren't able to come up with a decision until I came... It's not everyday that my finance and accounting job crossing paths... and worst part of it, I was almost fumigated at the office being there when the fumigation took place... This is now too pathetic...

And come to think of it, most of these efforts are unappreciated by cynical beings that never seem to be pleased so just thinking why bother at all... I guess some people are fortunately tasked to just be critics in a world that needs solutions... My mindset is just deliver my best effort and that's all I can do...

It's been a difficult week and I'm glad that the hard times are close to end... I better stop whining and I've got to pack my stuff in a while for my China trip tomorrow... but I'm still too tired to do that as of now... =<

Stress with a Capital S

It's a difficult week with the first three days having me stuck in a barrage of meetings... and energy level was down as early as Monday... and I don't see things becoming less turbulent this week...

"Time moves at a pace you least prefer... Too fast when you are busy and on a deadline... Too slow when you are bored and waiting..."

With so much crammed in the so little time between those meeting, time was at its frantic pace... Some line renewal coincided with the half year closing plus some recurring disturbance along the way... so that's stress with a Capital S... also means extended work hours during the weekday and additional hours on Saturday... and there's still a stressful week to go...

Today was spent catching up some lost sleep and even at my numerous attempt to do something, I can't will myself to get out of bed... and also blame it to the bed weather... If not for some pangs of hunger and the fact that I'm due my visit to the grocery, I might have not even bothered to get out... The rain was really falling hard today... and even the short drive to Rockwell was difficult due to the strong rains... At least, I get to recharge for next week's stress with a capital STRESS...

Excess Inkblogs: Amidst all the difficult times, I may have recovered my travel appetite with China board meeting next week and R&R in Davao in August... and will probably think of some travel alternatives after all the craziness has gone...

Thoughtless Thoughts: "The wheel of life revolves and brings us on top at times to appreciate the view and at time below to appreciate what we are missing."

Thoughtless Thoughts V. 1

" Whining doesn't get the job done but it takes some stress off. "


" Quitters never win but some quitters do move on. "


" Life without challenges is like food without its spices. "


" Planning is one thing... Reacting is everything... "


" Failure is one way of telling us that not all questions need to be answered. "


" If everything is right then how would we know when we are wrong. "


" Which would you prefer? The Painful Truth or a Sweet Lie??? "


" Life is product of events and our reaction to events. "


" Time moves at a pace you least prefer... Too fast when you are busy and on a tight deadline... Too slow when you are bored and waiting... "


" Patience has its limits for a reason... "

Tough Grind Ahead

Less than 2 weeks to go before the board meeting in China... and it's an uphill climb... and tough grind ahead starts tomorrow...

Audit Planning meeting in the morning... I never look forward to this and for it to come at crunch time, it's an added burden... It's SGV's alumni homecoming day tomorrow and the thought of coming haven't even entered my mind... Most of my friends are out of the country and the few that remain, I get to see often... and somehow, I feel stucked within the same SGV circles with the year round audit work... Maybe should find new circles to explore...

Apart from the planning meeting, I'll be stuck in two more meetings with banks and probably endless executive meetings the next two days... and then there's the rigid chase of a deadline on the half year financials... A plant tour and some finance and accounting stuff to finalize... I just got tired thinking about it...

If there's one thing I know... All deadlines will pass and all the work will go away at some time... so no use whining about it... though whining does help to relieve some stress... I'm just leaving on a day to day status... I usually give that answer when people ask me how long I can stand the tough grind... and probably been on a day to day status for such a long time... Sounds, non commital but probably more on a non-complacent attitude that tomorrow could always be something different... so must live the day by the day as much as I can...

Lazy weekend... Not this time... Spent time with friends preparing some stuff... time at the mall... at the spa... and some time to exercise a bit... I really need to lose some weight... I'm a bit on the heavy side... I'm also now on a conscious effort to relearn the art of window shopping without actually shopping... I've really been impulsive shopper as of late... Any progress??? I would like to think that everything I bought this week were things I needed and not things on impulse...

I wonder why I'm still up when I'm coding tomorrow and with tons of things to do... Oh well... Cranky Franky Times Ahead as well... =>

IF

" The great moments of your life won't necessarily be the things you do, they'll also be the things that happen to you. Now I'm not saying you can't take action to affect the outcome of your life, you have to take action, and you will. But never forget that on any day, you can step out the front door and your whole life can change forever. You see the universe has a plan kids, and that plan is always in motion. A butterfly flaps its wings and it starts to rain. It's a scary thought but it's also kind of wonderful. All these little parts of the machine constantly working, making sure that you end up exactly where you're supposed to be, exactly when you're supposed to be there. The right place at the right time."- How I Met Your Mother

An old professor once said that the saddest word in the dictionary consist of only two letters... "IF." It always makes you end up wanting and aspiring for something different. Never happy for what is here but always looking back on what could have been. A hindsight perspective to see all the things that mattered and could have made a difference.

I suddenly remembered the word if. What if??? I don't see much ifs and the more I look back, I somehow realize that everything has gone through the motion and everything is moving forward. Not really a perfect existence but something acceptable.

Then there's always the timing on how events unfold. The right place at the right time. I can safely say that if some events came at different times, I could have done things differently but things do happen for a reason. If some events does not sound reasonable then you are still not at the right place and right time meant for you. In time, everything will make sense.

Every time, there's an IF then there's a rationale that you'll come to see one day. I always want to believe that no matter how much we dwell on what could have been, life should still be lived moving forward. No amount of wishing to change a fragment of the past could bring you back to that moment and be able to change it but these are life's lessons that can change the trajectory our destination.

Life is product of events and our reaction to events. This leads us a step closer to where we should be at the right place at the right time. =>

Can Time Creep Slowly???

Just checked on the calendar... and I'm surprised that it's the 10th day of July... It's the second half of the year so soon... and just a few weeks short of another dreaded board meeting... and I'm sure wish that time to just creep slowly... No more frantic anticipation for weekends... just a snail paced "tick tock... tttttiiiicccckkkk ttttoooocccckkkk..."

I guess time can't creep slowly.... with all the craziness the world has to offer... It'll just be a bleep and it'll be board meeting time... Even another peek at China does not entice me a bit to look forward to this day... It sucks being in the center of attention and burdened by all the queries... Nothing I can't handle but always something I don't look forward to...

Glad that even at warp speed time, there's still good movies that come... Transformers a few weeks ago (I really love the movie)... Ice Age 3 (Funny)... and next week, it's Harry Potter (I'm sure the book is still better)... A monotony breaker of my a little bit boring routine...

Anyway, I may take another breather after all the crankiness that half year reporting brings... and probably resume my jet setting mode... there's still some areas to cover... and some thoughts that needs fresh air to unravel...

Better cut this short or I may be surprised when I do my time check... Back to Work...

Excess Inkblogs: Greetings portion... Happy Birthday FAA (July 9)!!! Happy Birthday Ruth (July 11)!!! and Happy Birthday Diane (July 11)... =>

Outdoors

I've been outdoors for the past three days... and after all those lazy weekend... comes one that is nowhere near lazy...

Spent Friday with our very much delayed plant visit to Bataan as preparation for half year closing... Early trip out and a nice meeting and a refreshing change of atmosphere from the usual office routine... I just hope we have made some progress on half year closing... and the trip was smooth except for snail-paced traffic entering Manila...

Attended Al's wedding in Tagaytay... The black and red motif was unusual but it did look nice to see everybody in red or black... Al was a pretty bride... Nice to meet SGV friends Arlyn, Jo-C, Emer and Mark... The venue of the reception, Balai Taal, was really scenic which is just a stone throw away from Taal Volcano... It was also nice to be able to have a long drive again, except for the traffic due to the Skyway extension... There goes my Saturday...

Sunday was spent with Arnold and my Inaanak Charm... Charm is cute and active... Always fun eating at Tiendesitas... and Charm had a blast in the nearby Fun Ranch... This place is such a haven for kids with all the rides and the playground... It was fun watching Charm playing around in the playground... Nice to meet up with Arnold and play around with Charm... Had coffee at Rockwell before calling it a day...

Well, there goes my weekend and I better take some rest or else it's gonna be a grumpy me on coding Monday morning... and I guess, "ang gamot sa antok... tulog."

Nyt Nyt!!!

Lazy Weekend Thoughts

The weekend is about over and I'm wondering when I'm ending my hibernation weekend mode... Still not my usual outgoing self lately... Probably conserving energy for the busy days... Some cluttered thoughts to unload...

Thoughts... that something I'm lacking now... Haven't really thought about anything long term... Just living by the day... I haven't really stopped... synthesize and come up with a plan... I'm somewhere in the middle ground but fortunately doing fine... Safe baby steps instead of giant leaps...

It's really a Transformers centric week... First half, spent anticipating the upcoming movie, the next half still struck by such a brilliant movie... Ended the week watching the first movie... Funny how you can sound profound by just quoting Optimus Prime's dialogues...

Overslept on a Sunday... That explains why weekends are so short... Imagine spending half the day in deep slumber... Should think of some stuff to do on a weekends... Rise and shine and have to push myself out of bed... Or else it'll be late afternoon before I get out of the house...

At least, I was able to manage some Wii Time... was able to win in Punch Out against bigger boxers now... beating Aran Ryan and Soda Papinski... and just starting with Bald Bull... Also, playing Mario Tennis and hopefully, I get back to my regular Wii Fit routine... That's my best shot at an exercise...

Lately, I've been trying to finish as much as I can within work hours... and glad to say that I'm able to finish everything on time or with time to spare... After getting past an exhausting fund raiser I guess, I'm taking advantage of some slack...

Travel... hasn't been on top of my list now with the swine flu lurking around... Come to think of it, you can contract the virus anywhere... so maybe I get to recover some of my travel appetite soon... As of now, been to 4 foreign trips and 3 domestic trips... When the appetite's back, there are still some destinations to cover...

Anyway, have to sign off on a lazy weekend... and on this note...

Transferia

I guess a lot of people had a dilemma on whether to stay home safe on the heels of Typhoon Feria in the Philippines or watch the night screening of Transformers 2... I choose to watch Transformers instead since I though the worst scenario was me being stuck in a mall in the middle of the typhoon... Luckily, the strong Typhoon never did hit Manila yesterday...

And the result... I really loved the movie... The action... The humor... The chase... The adventure... and the effects... Not to mention, Megan Fox was still so cute even when tormenting mini Decepticons... I really don't want to spoil some story lines as some people reading this might have not yet watched the movie... All I can say, it's a must see 2 1/2 hour movie that I'd like to watch over and over again... Maybe on IMAX next time...

I'm sure its gonna be a long wait before the next installment of the movie... so the wait begins...

Days in a Week

I am now... enjoying just twittin' about just a description of each day of the week... For how long, we'll see...

Half Awake Monday - Always starts my week this way... Early to rise and an early start, makes more of a zombie for a day...

Twisted Tuesday - Had a twisting headache... Seriously, how many interpretation can you make out of a formula??? One to many...

Wake Me Up Wednesday - Had a hard time dozing off Tuesday night, so I am barely awake on Wednesday...

Thrilling Thursday - I was expecting the response matching wits about Twisted Tuesday but it never came...

Finally, Friday - What else can I say... Friday is such a day to look forward too...

Sleep Time Saturday... and Sunday - Well, it's a weekend so might as well sleep as much as I can... though I did spend some time in the mall...

I wonder how this week will turn up...

Introducing Franckenstein's Travel Tales

I just realized that I've done my share of globetrotting... and travel has been such a common event for me... so I decided to have a separate section of my blog... that's purely travel...
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Hence, I'm introducing Franckenstein's Travel Tales (http://franckenstein.blogspot.com)... It's just a glimpse of the my travels and the tales that come with it...
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If this site is Blogging Whatever... Whenever... and my Twitter site is Twittin' Whatever... Whenever... then Franckenstein's Travel Tales is Travelin' Anywhere... Anytime...
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Excess Inkblogs: I hope to write more about my future travels... but I guess, I don't see a new location in the near future... but who know's, I'm such an impulsive person... =>

Half Awake Monday

I'm in the middle of my breakfast in the office and I still find myself Half Awake... I guess the pull of a long weekend is much stronger that somehow going up early on a Monday is such a burden... Hopefully, my tall mocha would work its wonders and pull the other half awake on a Monday...

Nothing special this long weekend... I was barely out but I did have a great time playing punch out on Wii... Glass Joe... Von Kaiser... Disco Kid... King Hippo... Piston Honda... Bear Hugger... Great Tiger and Don Flamenco down... More to go... It's a bit fun since you're actually swinging to knock down the other fighter...

Mid of June... In other words, a few days short of the half year report preparations AKA Busy days... the days are quick but I'd rather not think of that yet... The week to come... I haven't thought about what's in store yet... I just hope that we resume badminton soon... Still need to shed some pounds...

Well, I'm might as well focus my effort in surviving my half awake Monday... =>

Excess Inkblogs: Lakers up 3-1... Hope they clinch the championship today...

Circles

Circles... That's how my day evolve... A Problem solving roulette that always ended up with same point...

I had my two hands full of work today in my very brief business trip to Taipei... I guess that's expected with me squeezing everything today so I can get back to Ph tom... so a whole days worth of meeting that seems to go in circles... The solutions are obvious but stubborn heads are hard to sway... Patience my dear Franc... and patience it is as I was occupied until 11 pm today...

Small victories that's how I take satisfaction on improbable task... and at least we're on the right track... and the little patience gained and the baby steps taken could go a long way... we'll see where this is headed... I'm just glad that I would still make my flight tom... and from circles, I'd want to switch to several big letters....ZZZZZZZ....

Excess Inkblogs: Slightly feel bad that I wasn't able to catch Starbucks still open due to the meetings... I really wanted to check out if they have their Taipei mini mugs... I might try to catch early tom before I take my flight...

False Start on a Monday

Up early on account of bad dreams... One on account of failure and another on account of lost possession but woke up just in time as things became desperate... A false start... Hopefully, the tide would turn and things won't be a bad reality...

Early Monday is not always my favorite of times but at least I'm up... Might as well start trying to turn the tide... Yeah, I remember I'm a bit sore from Wii Yesterday... I reckon weekdays are made for working people like me to afford to spend something on a weekend...

Not quite an eventful day... except that after all the thoughts, I'm now bound for a very short trip to Taipei... Leaving tomorrow morning, be back Wednesday... barring unforeseen and sometimes expected extensions... However, entering a long weekend, I'd want to spend a day to finish some stuff...

Watched Up on the weekend and somehow it reminded me of work... Carl Fredricksen, the main character was a carbon copy of our CEO... the outfit, the glasses, the hair texture (except the hair color) and the shape of the face... Well, it's still a fun movie... I just hope I don't end up calling our CEO Carl Fredricksen tomorrow in Taipei... hehe...


Still some minor things to pack... Not really something to waste too much time... How many variations can you pack your stuff for one full night... hehe... Anyway, I hope to get some cup noodles which served as dinner most of the time the last time, I was here with Jing... Ph rainy season is the season of cup noodles... Also, I hope to get myself a mini Starbucks mug... I already have several and is next in line in things to collect after key chains, ref magnet and shot glass...

I would have waited for a longer time before traveling out of the country but I guess half my feet is always out of the country... I just hope that I won't get annoyed with the paranoia that comes with the swine flu scare at the airport... I just have to think that this will be a breeze and be back to the comfort of my room...

Excess Inkblogs: The Lakers are up 2 - 0!!! Hopefully, the Lakers go all the way... The question is will the current superman proved better than the previous superman in a Magic uniform during the finals...