Christmas Frenzy

I've been so lazy to blog even though I think I have a lot to write about. I had a very busy weekend - several events, some last minute work, Mom's birthday, a baptism and, of course, Christmas shopping!

This year I think I won't be going to any parties anymore. I just want to spend some quiet time at home with my family. But, of course, I can't go without the traditional Christmas-get-together with my amigas. We had it at Ottie's house since she couldn't go out yet (just gave birth a few weeks ago). We had lots of yummy food and got to play with little Elise! Traffic was just awful after the party... geeezzz...

Scalacm Christmas Get Together

Happy Birthday Mom!

I don't know how old my Mom really is. It's been a mystery to me eversince I was a child. I also don't know if my Dad is just 2 years or 5 years older than her. Oh well, no matter how old my Mom is, she's still the most fabulous Mom on earth!

And look at my parents... still so sweet even after 46 (almost 47) years! Happy birthday Mom!

Welcome to the Christian World Elise!

Elise's Baptism

It was a very exciting day for my new-Mom and Dad friends today - Ottie and Elmer. Their little girl, Maria Elisa P. Pasigan, was baptized at the Santuario de San Antonio Church at Forbes Park (Forbes or Dasma, I dunno), Makati City.

Chare and I attended the small family affair, sans Mercedes who had to do some business related errands. We were not able to attend the reception though, had to rush home for my Mom's birthday dinner.

Camangui, my second home

Eversince I was a baby, my parents would bring me to Camangui. Camangui in Pasacao, Camarines Sur is a little fishing village which never really changed. It's like time stood still in that place.

I remember going there with neighbors when I was very young. Tito Feling and other titos would sleep in the little nipa huts in the evenings and sometimes wake up with water lapping under their papag. Tito Henry (founder and owner of the Good Earth Restaurants) would experiment and exchange cooking techniques with my Dad. And I would swim the whole day, turning into a little negrita much to the frustration of my Mom who'd have a hard time getting me out of the water.

When I was little our source of light in the evenings would be the gasul that fishermen would bring in their little boats. You'd see little sparks of light in the horizon at night. Fishermen at work my Dad would say. And in the early morning, the little fishing boats would come to shore and you could buy really, really fresh fish.

What I loved most was taking a bath at the poso. Fresh spring water from the mountain accessed through a pump - a manual pump! Even though the water was freezing, I still enjoyed taking a bath by the pump. Very barrio. Very 1800s. I remember taking a bath there with my best friend under the full moon. It may have looked like a scene from a horror movie, but hey, it was so much fun.

Boat rides, trekking up the mountain to check-out my Dad's latest project, snake stories from my Lola Iyay, fishing for tilapia, sand-castle building were but a few of the things I'd do when I'm on vacation in Camangui. It is a place where I am most at peace.

My Mom walked in my study room this morning to give me the news that nothing was spared in our little place in Camangui. Villa Merced no more. I cannot imagine going there finding nothing. But as my best friend said, at least no one was hurt and it's an opportunity to rebuild.

And rebuild I will.

Just Having Fun

Dropped by DMCI Homes this afternoon to drop some stuff - well just my kris kringle gift for tomorrow's "something funny" theme. Might not be able to attend the afternoon party since I've got a lot of work to do.

While I was there, managed to take some crazy photos with buddies - Buddy, Jihan and Dave.

This is Buddy - ang lider ng mga gimmick este events pala. He just really loves having his photo taken with a weird face, but he is really a normal person.

This is me with Jihan and Buddy. Jihan is Buddy's apprentice in gimmick works. Mag-ama talaga sila... look at their tongue... hahaha. Need a hug, Jihan's the best hugger of all.

This is Dave with Buddy and Jihan in the background (ain't it obvious they love having their photos taken?). Dave's my anak since 2003 at E-Yellowpages. I hope her baby's going to look like me. Hahaha.

The Break-up

Up to you whether you'll want to watch it or not:

1. If you're depressed and looking for a good laugh, don't watch the movie.

2. If you want to break up with someone, watch the movie, they've showed lots of interesting strategies.

3. If you are in a relationship and want to make your partner appreciate you, watch the movie.

4. If you are in on a "break" and don't know whether to go on with the relationship or not, watch the movie.

5. If you're bored, might as well watch the movie.

Got this quote somewhere:

"Trying to forget someone you love is like trying to remember someone you never knew."
- Anonymous

CDO-Davao-Cebu Travel Blog

November 20: Cagayan de Oro

We flew to CDO in the wee hours of the morning on November 20, 2006. I was with Janette Toral (Founder, Digitalfilipino.com), Cannie May Encarnacion (Owner, Your One Stop Shopping Network, YOSSN.com) and Jonas de los Reyes (E-commerce Manager, Yehey.com who was my colleague and seatmate at One Hundred Services, Inc. a few years back). The Cebu Pacific flight was delayed and since the plane wasn’t filled up we were all freezing and couldn’t sleep during the flight.

Arriving at CDO early in the morning we all trudged to Dynasty Court Hotel, a popular local hotel. After checking in, Jonas and I went to McDonald’s to break our fast. Seeing that Xavier University was nearby, we immediately went there to meet up with educators from the computer sciences department. Then I brought Jonas to Vjandep, a local pastry shop known for its Pastel. Pastel is a pastry filled up with yummy caramel. Since it was too hot outside and we had to prepare for the workshop in the afternoon, we had Chinese food for lunch at the Dynasty Court Hotel. The food serving was huge and Jonas and I ended up having a doggie bag.

After the afternoon workshop, Jonas and I went to Netopia to check our mail and get some work done. Then it was off to Malberry Suites Hotel, a new place right behind Robinson’s, for my meeting with SEO Philippines members based in Cagayan de Oro. Little did we know that they were also founders of CDOkay.com, Jonas and I ended up getting educated on the tourist spots of CDO (which I managed to visit last year with friends from the Yellow Pages – see my blog about it at http://aileenapolo.blogs.friendster.com/my_life/). (Check out Tabby’s blog at http://www.cdokay.com/).

And then Jonas and I got lost. We were supposed to have dinner at the Plaza. After some calls to friends, we headed off to Limketkai. Surprisingly, the area had free wi-fi at most of the restaurants. We were really funny while having dinner. Barely talking because we were each sending SMS to friends, the waiters probably thought we were a couple fighting using our mobile phones. Ha-ha. I guess we were both just tired from talking the whole day and I don’t remember Jonas being talkative at all when we were seatmates three years ago.

Back at the hotel, I promptly fell asleep and ignored the mumu in the room.

November 21: Davao

After just 3 hours of sleep I had to get up and check-out for our road trip to Davao. Paying in cash, I managed to get 30% off the regular rate. Cool! Janette, Cannie and Stephanie Carragos (CEO, Syntactics) were already jovial even at 3 a.m. Waited for Jonas and the van and off we went to the darkness. It was my first road trip in the Mindanao area and had no idea what was outside the van. It was pitch black. My imagination was running wild, so I just prayed and forced myself to sleep.

I think I managed to discover a thousand new sleeping positions in the van. The worst was feeling I was upside down when we were traversing the zigzag. That got me quite dizzy. I couldn’t imagine how I managed to sleep. I kept checking my watch and it was moving quite fast – I dozed in 30-minute segments. The sun finally went up and I finally saw the countryside. It wasn’t so different from the road trips I’ve taken in Luzon. Except for a few lush greenery, things were very much the same with the Banawe and Bicol trips I’ve taken.

We stopped over at Seagull Mountain Resort for some breakfast. Someone mentioned that the place is called “Buda” (not sure if I heard it right) and is known to be the “Baguio” of CDO-dash-Davao. It was sure a lot like Baguio because it was quite cold. I had native hot chocolate (take note “native” and not the Ovaltine they served coz I’m unfortunately allergic to powdered drinks). I had yummy chicken longganisa, the longsilog even had some dilis on the side.

I didn’t sleep much the rest of the way. We arrived at Casa Leticia, Davao at around 9 a.m. Bumped into Andrew Gaston, sales director of Dream Satellite TV, at the hotel. I fell asleep after checking-in and then got up around lunch time to bring Jonas around.

We were going to have lunch at The Venue, but it was still closed, so after calling Rex of Bayantel, we headed off to Harana. Jonas and I had spare ribs, but they didn’t have any durian cake. I then brought Jonas to Aldevinco to get some durian spread and candies. Then off we went to Ranchero Grill for the workshop.

The workshop was attended by a much different group from CDO. The audience was more internet savvy and well-versed in SEO. There were guests from the government, media and the business sector. A lot more networking happened after the seminar. I was quite in a rush though because I have another speaking engagement. Bid goodbye to Jonas who had to fly to Cebu that night because the flights the next day were already booked.




After checking my mail and getting some more work done, I managed to find my way around Ateneo de Davao for my speaking engagement with the computer science seniors class. The students were really excited over the game I played for the t-shirts. Thanks to Professor Edwin Marañon for allowing me to speak to the seniors.

My day wasn’t over yet. After my stint at the Ateneo, I got myself a cab for my next event – meeting SEO Philippines members at Blugre Café. I was quite surprised with the turn-out. Guests ranged between beginner to expert SEOs. The famous blogger-Councilor of Davao City also attended the meeting. Most of the places in Davao had free wi-fi hotspots. (which I think is really, really cool!).

After my meeting with the SEOs, I met up with the other speakers and hanged-out at Blugre Café. Tasted durian coffee (quite yummy) and had a cheesecake (I can just imagine how fat I’ll be when I get home). Spent also some time with my Davao friend, Rex and then we all went back to the hotel, exhausted.

I was the last one to have breakfast the next day. Janette, Cannie, Stephanie and Abby were all checking their mail and doing some business the next day. I guess I was just really exhausted with all my activities. Janette rode with me to the airport and we had a very interesting talk about tarot reading and feng shui. Told her I love reading about ghosts and paranormal experiences.











At the airport I was quite desperate to taste the famous durian cake. Rob, a college friend, was unfortunately in Manila, and he was the one who told me about how delicious durian cake is. Found some durian ice cream and coaxed the others to taste it. I didn’t want to try out the durian pie (saving that for next time) though. Unfortunately I couldn’t find any durian cake, but I found some durian rolls. Bought a pack and shared it with Janette, Cannie, Stephanie and Abby. It was a good think I brought Kremil-S, Cannie had a stomachache from eating too much durian food.

Cebu

We were all nervous about getting to the venue for the workshop on time. So we split up. Cannie and Stephanie rode with me to Waterfront Hotel and they just switched taxis. It took me some time to get a room at Waterfront. Ended up having to upgrade my room because they didn’t have any available. I could’ve waited but I didn’t want to be late for my speaking engagement.

After doing some calls for my meetings the next day, I rushed off to Rajah Hotel for the workshop. I changed my tactic in giving away the shirts (and I won’t reveal it here), and that made more people participate in introducing Google products.

Networking followed the workshop. Excused myself to accompany Jonas to buy some pasalubong. Good thing Darwin showed up. After going around and through Fuente Osmena, Jonas and I settled for a while at Mango Brutus to taste the siomai Darwin bought for us. It was really maanghang (chilly)! So Jonas got some mango shakes to “cool” down our burning tongues. The chili sauce really made me sweat. Went back to Rajah Hotel to meet up with Janette and the others for the meeting with the rural bank association.

Dinner was at Saang’s Seafood Resaturant. I ate there before with friends from DPC Yellow Pages. The place is half-way through the mountain and overlooks Cebu City. The big imposing dark abandoned building that’s near the place is now Marco Polo Cebu. I think I’ll have the place operate for a year or two first before checking it out. (Might have mumus).

Back at the hotel, I managed to watch a part of my favorite telenovela (the only thing that I watch on TV now). I haven’t had time to watch TV lately. I then got a call from my best friend and off I went to see him and his siomai place.

The next two days were also busy since I had to go around schools and also met up with members of SEO Philippines in Cebu. I also managed to squeeze in dinner with Max, a college friend, and of course, spent time with my very busy best friend who’s building up his siomai empire.

Cagayan de Oro, Davao and Cebu Roadshow

Pare, Dude, Repapips!

Wow pare... dude... repapips... high ako!

I've been repainting my basement for the past two nights. And it's addicting! Not because of the acrid smell of quick drying enamel, but because of the workout I'm getting. Plus it helps take my mind off things.

Who said painting was easy? Last night the floor looked like a dalmatian. Good thing I put newspaper on it, but still there were quite a number of spots here and there. So today I got myself some roller thingies. Made things easier, but i ended up having tiny spots all over my arm. I'll never be an expert painter. But hey, it's fun. I think I'll do the whole basement myself. Hmmm...

Welcome to the world Maria Elisa Pasigan. Ottie and Elmer are now full-pledged parents! I'm so excited to visit them and see my new niece. And welcome to the world to Marie's baby girl! Two babies in two days! And in a few months my best friend, Tappy's going to give birth too. And there's Dave also. Both of them are still going through the paglilihi stage and I'm IT. So my weight's been fluctuating a lot in the past month. I hope I stay thin!

Bad Day's playing again. Now I can't imagine why I was in a rut last week. To think I was so busy with work. Still am. But I'm happy again. I guess I managed to find my purpose, again.

November 17, 2006, 12:15 a.m.

Manila, Philippines

Inspiring the Uninspired

“I feel so uninspired.”

That was my friend’s status in her IM. I wondered why she was feeling uninspired. Bumped into her in the office, but was quite busy with meetings and I didn’t notice her go home. She’s always so bubby, makulit and full of laughter and that status worried me.

So I sent her an SMS and asked why she’s been feeling that way. She said she didn’t know why she was so uninspired. She felt demotivated and wasn’t feeling happy about her work. She had a lot of deductions in her salary because of her absents. Her OT didn’t do much and sometimes she had to make abono for some work. Oh my…

Last week I was stuck in this huge, huge rut. I was in a hole I couldn’t get out of. I didn’t know why I was feeling that way. I was busy with work. I was the workaholic from a year ago. Staying up late to finish up. Despite the hectic pace I was keeping I was still in a rut.

During the weekend I kept myself busy by going to the mall with my family and friends. I had back-to-back schedules with no time to rest. But I was still in a rut.

And then on Sunday night, after all the noise and with everybody asleep, my body was weak, feverish, my mind was still churning with things I wanted to do, but the flesh was weak. So I turned to reading Didache, and this is what it said, “The bowl will not run out of flour nor will the jar run out of oil before the day that I, the Lord, send rain.” (1 Kings 17:14).

The reflection said that the Lord wants us to experience drought, so that when the rain comes, you would enjoy it.

And that got me out of my hole.

And I thought, there are things that I have now because that is what I need. It means I have so much to do before God gives me the things I am praying for. And the things I need to do I will only manage to do because the state I am in now is the perfect situation to implement my mission.

May you be inspired my friend.

Having a Bad Day

And so I’m having a bad day. My good friend Jorge gave me this link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rVab9-G-55g – it’s the video of Bad Day by David Powter. It did cheer me up a bit and Anne also sent me the MP3. So I guess this is my theme song for the day and my poor neighbor will just have to put on ear plugs.

Well, I really don’t care to explain why I’m having a bad day. I just am. Actually not just a day, but it’s been a week. So what does one do to get out of a bad day?

1. Listen to or watch the video of Bad Day by David Powter (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rVab9-G-55g)
2. Bug your friends.
3. Eat chocolates. (Ahem ahem so that’s why my throat is sore again).
4. Listen to random songs in your Ipod.
5. Bury yourself in work.
6. Clean up your room and throw away as much stuff as possible.
7. Talk to your best friend.
8. Be OC in everything you do.
9. Watch your favorite telenovelas.
10. Pray

I read though in one of Bo Sanchez’ books that when you’re having a bad day you should try and count your blessings. This usually works for me. So what are the top 10 simple blessings I got today?

1. Woke up with a message from my best friend. That definitely communicated that I wasn’t alone.
2. Everytime I’d feel bad somebody just suddenly buzzes, calls or sends me a SMS.
3. I had lunch with Mom and Dad, free food from McDo! Spaghetti definitely cheers me up.
4. I managed to finish my report without any hitches. Thought I’d have a hard time compiling what I did the past week.
5. I didn’t have to wash so many dishes after dinner. When I end up washing lots of dishes I usually get a back ache. Good thing there was just a few.
6. Spoke with Tita Rose and she congratulated me on the newest issue of The Beads.
7. Spoke with Derek and got a clearer view on a project I’m doing.
8. Several friends from all over town, the country and Canada pinged me.
9. Miggy came home early.
10. I’m feeling sleepy and that’s good.

So am I feeling better? Just a bit. Oh well, never mind, I still have some work to do.

Big Things from Small Talk

Published in THE BEADS Volume II Issue 8
Written on October 30, 2006

Rule #1: Always dream big.

Rule #2: Don’t mingle with negative people.

The Ultimate Rule: Always pray.

It’s been a long while since I last saw my buddies from college. We each had our own excuses for not staying in touch. And so after so many years of not seeing each other we had a mini-reunion at Joe’s wedding.

It was a fascinating Chinese wedding. The brilliant hues of magenta and the apple green motif matched well the warmth I felt in the simple, yet very elegant (and expensive!) celebration. The years just faded away as we updated each other. Between the wedding ceremony and the reception we managed to have some time off at a little coffee shop by CCP.

And that’s where I re-learned two very simple things. Rule #1 and Rule #2.

Brin, a multi-awarded advertising agency professional, had very big dreams back in college. He was a chemistry graduate, but because of his talent he is now known for the catchy commercials he pens. His father was murdered last year and he was thrust with the responsibility of looking over his son, mother and two sisters. Adding to that was the burden of finding out that their house was mortgaged without their knowledge. Because of this, Brin thinks his grand dreams are unreachable. He thinks he’ll be saddled with problems forever.

Al, the guy took seven years to finish college. Transferring from one course to another, ended up having to finish his studies at another school. All these years he’s been jumping from one venture to another, from longganisa to video gaming. We all thought he’d never get anywhere.

I was surprised with Brin’s sharing. I was really It never occurred to me that he would think that way because he’s successful, even multi-awarded. Al then started talking about how he managed to change his mindset. He admitted that he was a wanderer before. He kept planning and planning, but never got anything implemented. Why? Because the people he spent time with were negative. They always told him he’d never make it and the things he planned were not going to get off the ground. And then Al shared that he is actually implementing the things he had planned, starting with a video game he’s making to an exciting movie food-to-go stall he’s about to launch.

It was then that Brin’s mood started to change. He realized that he’d been spending too much time with people who were negative. Co-workers complaining about their jobs, his mother who kept saying they should just live in a `barong-barong’ to other people who were just stuck in the grind of day-to-day living. He also realized he had stopped dreaming. He went home that night a changed person.


Surprising what you can get out of attending a wedding. To think the groom was someone (1) who we all thought won’t get married (ever) and (2) won’t ever set foot in a Church. Well, the groom (1) is the first guy to get married in our group and (2) he was the one who chose and made the arrangements to get married at the Manila Cathedral.

God really moves in mysterious ways. In everything we go through there is only one ultimate solution: PRAYER.

And so brings us to the first year anniversary of THE BEADS. Starting off last year at a small writing workshop, we’ve managed to publish seven issues. Believe me, we have undergone through a lot of sleepless nights, begging, close calls, tears and negative feedback to come out with THE BEADS. And hasn’t been easy, but it is a calling.

We bring you Volume II of THE BEADS with a special on the Parish Fiesta, plans of the Parish Pastoral Council and a little feature on the staff of THE BEADS.

Don’t be shy, JOIN US!

30 Things I Did at 30

A year has passed and I’m chalking up another year of my life. It has been an eventful year with so many adventures, travels, emotional upheavals and change.

Travelled a lot to Cebu and Davao.

White water rafting at Cagayan de Oro with DPC Cebu friends.

Got special training for research from the famous Dr. Ned Roberto.

Ad Congress at Cebu. Went to Puerto Galera with high school friends.

Launched LUK4 Mobile E-Yellowpages through print, TV and radio and loads of events.

Reached 115 pounds at one point.

Took two weeks off during Christmas. Volunteered at a Gawad Kalinga build.

Was at Cebu during the Sinulog and had a bar tour there.

Resigned from DPC Yellow Pages

Went to Singapore and spent time with Tappy there.

Went to Jakartato spend time with my Kuya and his family.

Got a job at Dream Satellite TV and resigned 3 months after (my shortest ever).

Helped Ottie at her wedding and was secondary sponsor.

Helped Tappy at her wedding and was a bridesmaid.

Official wedding coordinator of the Bruce-Valenton wedding.

Got interviewed by the world’s largest search engine through the phone, video conference etc. etc.

Went to Hongkong for an interview.

Survived a meet the clan last October without hyperventilating obviously.

Went to Tagaytay with his family. Spent time with his Ate in Singapore.

Became consultant at DMCI Homes. Went to Baguio for their planning session.

Went to Boracay for the very first time.

Had bikini shots taken by a professional photographer (hey… habang bata pa me!)… but I’m
keeping them to myself hehehe.

Backed-up as model for a brochure (just my back hehehe).

Transformed the green room into a study room.

Because editor-in-chief of The Beads and was appointed as social communications ministry head of the Parish Pastoral Council of OLMHRP. Am into my 8th issue already for the newsletter.

Have been writing continuously again.

Met a lot of new friends in the past year.

Did several “closures”.

Opened my heart again. He’s meeting my friends and family tomorrow.

Became Philippines Country Consultant for an international search engine.