autumn in new jersey

the last time i was in the US was at the peak of summer. IT WAS HOT. really really hot. like wet armpits feels like in an oven hot. seriously.

my trip this time around happens to be in the fall. they say it's the best season of the year and i can't wait to get it started. 

the leaves are changing colors, the weather is cold and i can start wearing my boots! remember the hello kitty uggs i bought in tokyo? well this weather is just purrfect for that.

Happy Columbus Day America!

it's good to be back.

1 week to say adieu

has it been 2 months??? 

i feel like i just got here! there's still so much shopping to do! (panic much?)

in 1 week, i shall go back to Manila

until then,  i have 2 months to be with my family and friends back home while keeping my fingers crossed for the next trip here come October.

i love my job. i do. i really really do.

unexpected recognition

i got an email from my old boss yesterday. a surprise email if i may add since i moved to a different team late last year.

she said that in recognition of my participation in the success of what probably is the team's biggest project last year, she nominated as one of the top performers to be presented to the higher ups.

i don't expect to actually win or be the best, but to have someone appreciate and value me the way that she does is truly an honor and an achievement in itself.

so to you madam, thank you. to say i am touched is an understatement. you are my mentor and my inspiration. thank you for the trust and the chance.

jersey baby

24 hrs, 3 connecting flights, 4 timezone changes later....i am in New Jersey.

yes, i am back to blog. all the way from the US of A.

first time. exciting.

for now, i am just grateful that my trip, albeit the longest i've had, was hassle free.
thank you immigration people, you all rocked today!

so, off to bed i go. i've been up since 5am saturday, manila time. my pimples are starting to show!

gnyt Jersey, i know you and i are gonna have a blast!

moshi moshi

so my trip to tokyo finally pushed through.

for the next 2 months, i will be eating all the sushi and ramen i could get hold of.

i'm excited.

the apartment is cozy. very cozy.

oh, and the tub almost gave me a heart attack! hello claustrophobia :D

but i'm not complaining.

i. love. my. job.

crazy as a schedule can be

so i'm leaving joburg on the 20th.
will arrive in manila on the noon of the 21st.

and then i'm off to KL for another project on the 22nd for a few days.

which means i'll be officially home on the 26th!

woot woot!

minor setback and a bounce

i had the worst blues attack last week. i mean yuck! lasted for 3 days which was even more yuck.

but it's over. i've managed to shake it off. i'm sorta back to "normal".

in less than a month, i will be going back to manila. familiar place. familiar people. home.

===

in other news, my boss in manila called yesterday to tell me that another team is poaching me. she didn'nt want me to move but said that it's a step up in the corporate ladder and that she wanted me to know my options. and since she put it that way, i said yes to the move. with the promise to transition until a suitable replacement for my current post is identified.

so there, effective Aug. 1, i shall leave the umbrella of the boss i've loved for 5 yrs. it's bittersweet since she's the one who gave me a break. she's my mentor and i love her dearly. but that's life. you just gotta roll with it.

and hell imma rolling :)

and so my waka waka journey begins

for the next three months Johannesburg, South Africa will be my home.

the hotel is wonderful and the service is GREAT! pro-active staff left and right.

the food, compared to KL, is awesome. no need for inday to do the cooking!

the weather is perfect. it's the beginning of winter and temperature ranges from 3-12degrees. time to bring out my winter wardrobe! woopie!

the people are nice. all of them. from the driver who picked me up to the hotel staff to my colleagues at work. they are all very warm and friendly and welcoming.

Johannesburg is a photographer's dream. the office and hotel are both located in the suburbs so the streets aren't bustling with commuters and traffic.

it's melbourne all over again. the streets, the pace, the buildings, the weather. i love it!
if my first two days here is a promise of the nex 87 days, i'm sure to have a blast.

again, i love my job!!!!

wacka wacka it's time for Africa

i was supposed to stay here in KL until the end of May but due to an urgent requirement for another project, i'll be flying back to Manila on Monday to process my visa for South Africa.

yes, wacka wacka it is.

to make things more interesting, himhim will be assigned there as well. and so for the next three months, we shall be together. every single day.

wish me luck.

patience

Everybody who knows me knows that patience isn't really one of my virtues.

Oh but patient today, i was! Our client flew in from Dubai to oversee the project's cutover this weekend. Normally, and in almost all the projects i've implemented, clients just tell me what they want and my job is just to produce the output that they want.

BUT NO! not with this one.

He insisted on watching everything i do. Now i wouldn't mind if he was just there to observe. But he didn't. He wantrd to do things his way. He's the client so i let him have his way. I did what he said. And failed. All of it. So i told him, now can we do it my way? He said sure, wherever you're more comfortable. So i did, and it worked just fine.

When i was done, he smiled and asked me out for smokes :)

Amen.

Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.8

promoted

blessings, no matter how small or how big, are simply the best. 

amidst calamities and war and apathy, one has to learn to be greatful. not just for the big things, but the littlest of things which make one smile.

life is good. no matter what.

the job that isn't

if i have not said it enough, i will say it again. i love my job!


not only do i get to travel and meet all sorts of interesting people, but at the end of the day, it gives me the feeling that my job really isn't a job. i like it too much for it to be.

my boss is awesome. really awesome.
my colleagues are my friends.
and everyday is always an opportunity for growth.

love it! wouldn't trade it.

:)

ps. i got my PA last night and it said...i'm getting a promotion. woot woot!

updates since my last post

Work:
I'm back in KL, this time, a project for Singapore. the last project for HK was a huge success albeit some issues, most of which are non-work related

I have a new member which makes us a team of 6 now. masipag pa. for how long, i'm not sure hahaha!
performance appraissal is just around the corner so i'm keeping both fingers and toes crossed! a promotion sounds mighty fine :)

Family:
Miguel was a scarecrow last halloween. oooohhh and he was the cutest scarecrow ever!

himhim:
IS DEAD. I KILLED HIM NA!

well, he's out my life at least. like way out. we hardly talked since i went back to manila..not even before i left for KL. do i miss him? i'd be lying and a straightass hypocrite if i say i don't.

so yes, i do. but not like before. something just died and he and i were never the same.

friends:
i'm gonna be a bridesmaid. again. one in december and the other one in january. lampas 27 dresses na ito!!!! lord, pwede bang tanggalin na ang maid at maging bride naman ako??? hahhaa!

so that's it. KL is gonna be home for the next month. which means, i will be celebrating my bday here and i will be missing Papa's big 75th celebration at home :(

moment of truth

tomorrow will be the cutover for the last wave of this ever mahabang project.

uat is almost done and so far, no major issue has been encountered.

if everything goes according to plan, the days following this weekend will be a breeze.
wish me luck!

oh! oh! and this would mean that in less than 2 weeks, i'll be back in manila! yey!!! no more cooking! no more laundry! hello senyorita! hahahhahah!

back in KL

for another month or so...

we are halfway through the project and i have yet to uncross my fingers since i got back last week hahaha!

this is it! go live for the last applications is drawing near.

so far so good.

good to be home

so it's day 2 in manila and everything is better than fine.

Day 1 was spent with my family. Well at least for the entire 4hours that i was awake! Hahaha! mama cooked adobo since i requested for it. Since i started getting lo ng out of the country assignments, adobo has been my welcome meal. So even if airline food as yet to be digested, i had to eat. After all, no one cooks adobo like my mom!

my nephew miguel could not get enough of me and i'm not complaining. he now has this eay of looking and smiling at you as if to say uuuyyy ninang is here! And his words! Omg! It's only been a month but his vocabulary has increased tremendously. That plus the fact that he's more pilyo than ever. once i said no and he goes "aba laban na ha!" and the gives me the cutest smile! hahaha!

Today was spent at work. and as expected, i was swamped. But i don't mind. I love what i do! 2 days down. 5 days to go before i leave again.

Oh and the best part is i saw him and i was ok. which is a far cry from where i was a month ago. Snaps for me!

manila, oh how i love thee. You're far from perfect but i am happy to call you my imperfect home :)

17 days down, 13 days to go

i normally don't mind having long assignments. i mean, i totally had fun in Melbourne despite the fact that i was alone for the first couple of weeks.

now that i'm in KL though, i feel like it's taking so long for the project to end. i want to go home. i miss my family, especially miguel who is spending this weekend in boracay.

it doesn't help too that this project sucks big time. i mean, our team here was given the "do you know what you're doing?" treatment since day 1. now, if it really were the case, i'd be big enough to admit that it's true. but it's not. and it sucks! especially when we are all doing our darnest best. kwestyunin ba ang skill sets namin when we are actually ahead of schedule????

next week the team from HK are flying here. time for us to prove them all wrong. and we are all so gonna bring it! ha!

on another note, i think i have gained weight since i got here. the food is great and all we ever do is eat! stress eating isdatyu?

the hotel has a fabulous gym and i plan to go this weekend.

so there, KL is ok. but it's not a place i wanna go back to.

Packed

In less than an hour. For a 3wk trip.

Somebody ought to give me a pat on the back or a star on my hand hehe!

malaysia here i come!

malaysia truly asia

in a few days, i'm off for a 3-week assignment in the land famous for the Petronas Towers.

it's gonna be my first time in KL and i'm sorta excited. just a tad bit :)

i love my job!

a sea of unfamiliar faces

for the first time in a very long time, going to work today was something i didn't look forward to. as part of our company's expansion program slash cost cutting scheme, almost half of the employees had to move to the alabang office in order to accommodate the new ones.

that being said, as i came to work this morning, instead of the usual warm and friendly atmosphere, i was welcomed by a sea of unfamiliar faces. the office was unusually quiet and the people i have grown to like and love over the last five years are gone.

it was like being new all over again and it sucks. change may be good but this one isn't. at least for me, it isn't. part of the reason why i love working is the people i work with. now that half of them are gone, going to work sorta sucks just a bit.

while it's true that making new friends may be easy and i'm sure the new ones are fine, it just isn't the same.