..... and i know you miss me

sorry for the lack of post, but do follow me on my mini-blog:

http://twitter.com/glaizaminel

xoxo

i've always thought about coming up with my own. here it is! and.. no, you'll not see this in facebook :)

1)      I'm at my worst when things don't happen as planned, or when I'm hungry.

2)      I'll probably win in an egg-eating contest.

3)      I hate the feeling of being inferior or failing.

4)      My priorities never changed through the years—God, Family, Work/Studies, Friends, Boyfriend—you may contest but that's the truth.

5)      I'd rather get stressed from too much work than spend 8 hours of doing nothing or anything routinely.

6)      I claim to be a people-person, but lately I've been feeling out of place.

7)      I'd rather be a geek than popular.

8)      I don't have any other influences other than my parents and my sisters. Sometimes I get too influenced that I forget to trust my own taste or decisions.

9)      I love eating healthy foods but I cheat sometimes especially if it's Cheetos or Pizza or any meal from McDonalds.

10)   When I get rich I'll get a liposuction—for my arms and legs! Haha!

11)   I've put up a blog to challenge my writing skills. I've always thought that I'm good in Math—hence a booboo in English. But apparently, not quite. I get good feedback from my entries.

12)   Sometimes (or often) I think about clearing the air with each person whom I've had issues with. I think about sending them a sorry email or text or any form of sorry message.

13)   I desperately want to drive. But the thought of hitting someone freaks the hell out of me.

14)   I love to travel. My jaw drops out of envy every time I see my FA friends' facebook or multiply pages.

15)   As much as I enjoy having tons of gimiks or trips or events to attend to during the weekend, I'm really a homebuddy—I never get bored in the house; the couch is my favorite companion.

16)   I got accepted in one of Tokyo's universities as an exchange student back in college—but the financing institution backed out. I think that was my first real heartbreak.

17)   I'm sweet to my family, friends and boyfriend—but I'm guilty of being a brat or giving them an attitude sometimes.

18)   I miss being on top of everything. I'm yet to find my comfort zone in the corporate world.

19)   I have to get my life moving—get a better paying job, take up masters, and get another certification.

20)   If I can go back in time, I will not quit from the batch cheering squad. And I'll take ballet lessons instead of piano. I'll also raise my hand whenever I know the answer or ask the teacher whenever something is unclear to me.

21)   I love dancing—but I only get to dance now in Gold's group exercises.

22)   Waiting ultimately tests my patience. And I fail almost every time.

23)   I'm a sentimental person. I can't seem to throw away even the most trivial things—receipts, movie tickets, boarding passes, even tissue from a restaurant! I love making scrapbooks too but I stopped after 1^st year college.

24)   I want to take up law—but I don't intend to practice. I just want the challenge, and the title J

25)   I was named after American actress/ singer Liza Minnelli. They just added "G" (all my sisters' names start with G) and took out the "lli" to make it sound unique.

Since I've already given up my access to snoop around shared drives of people's laptops in SGV, I settled watching the latest episode of Gossip Girl in youtube's blurry, cut-in-five upload. I loved the episode! This new twist might just be the redemption it needs from the excruciating Chuck-Blair yes-no-yes-no to love drama that has been dragging me for the past weeks. Thank God, at least one of the remaining 3 series I still tune into still feel like entertainment. Prisonbreak and Hereos are just too painful to watch nowadays. Prisonbreak just had to bring in the irony of the main antagonists being the good guys just when they have used up 3 seasons pointing all the catastrophes of the brothers' lives on them. The first part of season 4 was great but after the failed attempt for escape yet again, it began to feel exhausting that you tolerate the watching just to get everything over with. And as for Heroes… it's just immensely messed up! All the talks about the "future" seem to be never ending. What a huge disappointment for someone who worshipped season 1. I'm yet to watch the latest episode—apparently, there's another volume. 4 seasons in barely 2 years. Tsk tsk.

Anyway, I should stop. I don't do reviews so why am I sounding like I'm making one?

I should start getting my brain working. Sorry for the lack of post. Maybe I'll write a better one as soon as other blog sites fail to amuse me anymore.

Just a shoutout to my favorite, Jenny Cenzon! Congrats on passing LAE! :) Wow, I can't help but remember that FX ride from review school to our condo--the time when we agreed to take up Law after a few years of corporate experience. Good Job Jen! :D

As for me? Maybe in 5 years time. Haha!

“We're meant to lose the people we love. How else are we supposed to know how important they are?”

“Your life is defined by its opportunities... even the ones you miss.”

“You can be mad as a mad dog at the way things went; you can swear and curse the fates - but when it comes to the end, you have to let go.”

“But life being what it is - a series of intersecting lives and incidents, out of anyone's control - that taxi did not go by, and that driver was momentarily distracted, and that taxi hit Daisy, and her leg was crushed.”

“For what it's worth, it's never too late or, in my case, too early to be whoever you want to be. There's no time limit, stop whenever you want. You can change or stay the same, there are no rules to this thing. We can make the best or the worst of it. I hope you make the best of it. And I hope you see things that startle you. I hope you feel things you never felt before. I hope you meet people with a different point of view. I hope you live a life you're proud of. If you find that you're not, I hope you have the strength to start all over again.”

“Along the way you bump into people who make a dent on your life. Some people get struck by lightning. Some are born to sit by a river. Some have an ear for music. Some are artists. Some swim the English Channel. Some know buttons. Some know Shakespeare. Some are mothers. And some people can dance.”

we'll get there PJ... for now, happy 6 months! :)

HAHAHA

Look who's choking from her own words now…

I hate to admit it but I felt more than an inch of excitement as I stepped into SGV grounds for the first time after quite a while. What used to be a distressing place turned out to be a refuge—well, an escape really from the agonizing pain from doing absolutely nothing at P&G.

After all those years of complaining, I never thought that I would actually get stressed out from slacking off. I've only been there for two weeks but when all you do is count hours from 8 to 5 every single day, minutes start to feel like hours, hours feel like weeks and weeks feel like months. My EY laptop can only do so much. After cleaning my desktop and sorting out emails, there really isn't anything else to do with it, especially since for now, I am still barred from using LAN or Wi-fi.

I know I should be savoring this time instead of whining. Projects (and hopefully my new laptop!!) will eventually come—baka nga mag-sabay sabay pa! I just didn't realize that the transition from a hectic to such a slack environment will be too difficult for me. Geez. I'm beginning to sound more and more workaholic entry after entry. Hahaha!

Maybe I just feel so left out seeing everyone else there busy with their respective projects or attending meetings or answering emails. Haaay.

Soon. Sana lang.

It is always a thrill to experience something new. It's my first day on my so-called new job. The thought of being in a different environment, learning new things and meeting new people somehow eased the anxiety I was feeling as I walked to the lobby of my new building. While it is a break from the rigid audit work life, the pressure the job entails will surely be not any less, if not more.

My first day in my first job two years ago, I went straight to attend a two-week training. After which, it was the real thing—field work and a one-month deadline to release a complete set of financials.  I never had the privilege of slacking off for a few days or so, or to digest and know by heart the A-Zs of Audit unlike most of the new hires. Busy season came and went and there wasn't any other choice but to move along.

This time around, it was different. I spent two hours waiting before I got deployed to my assigned row (team). I was relieved to see some familiar faces as I got comfortable in my new working area—bigger, cleaner plus the city as my view just like in my old area. And then it was time to meet the rest of the team. I was welcomed by our row leader with a huge smile on her face. During that 45-minute panel interview two weeks ago, I never caught a smile from her except when she introduced herself and the others through a handshake. It's as if she's a whole new person to me now—friendly, perky, and seemingly easy to work with. Great!

I never thought that people here would be extra-friendly. New hires back in my old office do not get attention except on cluster meetings, team buildings or parties where presentations and dance numbers are always a part of the program or meeting agenda. Here, you can expect random people to talk to you—in elevators, restrooms, etc. The welcome greet extends beyond your team.

A colleague from E&Y was kind enough to brief me on the work and the environment. More than the perks of having flexible working hours, unrestricted wi-fi connection, none policy on dress code and others, he dwelled more on the pressure the job compels you to burden yourself with—just what I had anticipated. Here, there is little (if not none) room for error. There are neither seniors nor managers to review your work. People work on projects—simultaneously. You represent your row on your projects and you are solely accountable for your work. On meetings, you will not be a mere minutes-taker. No matter what your rank is or how long you have stayed with the company, you are expected to do presentations, head event meetings and initiate discussions.

Our row leader reiterated on the no-expectations-for now idea just before I took off for an afternoon meeting, which turned out to be a soft on-boarding for my first project. I later realized how meetings are everyday routine. People are rarely on their work stations. You will always spot them moving from one room to another, one floor to another with laptops on hand.

The rest of the afternoon, I was merely counting hours before the clock hit 5. From what I learned, overtime is not encouraged. They make use of the whole 8 hours to work as efficiently as possible—no prolonged lunch, no snack time, no yb breaks and no putting off work until after office hours. That explained the almost deafening silence in the floor. Catching up, sharing of jokes or whatever are only done in breaks and inside pantries—where surprisingly, I found a foosball, basketball shootout, ping pong table and a flat screen TV.

As I stepped out of the building, I felt every nerve in my body finally calm down. I let out a sigh of relief—relief from having the dreaded first day finally over and more importantly, relief from knowing that I made the right choice. I know it's still early to say but I'm optimistic. Besides, who would choose six months of crazy busy season over Christmas and summer vacation, huh?!

C'mon…

Nothing is free. And when someone gives anything for free, apparently, there's always an ulterior motive. Like in the fairytale, when the old lady handed an apple to Snow White, it was not that she wanted to give food, but for her to actually die. Like when you buy a cell phone in installment claiming zero-interest. It does not mean you won't be paying interest, it's just that the charge is already embedded in your monthly payments. Like when a councilor provides "Libreng Sakay" during All Saints Day, it just means that you have to remember his face and name, as seen boldly in the banner hanging in one of the free jeepneys, come Election Day.

So sorry pizzaboy, I can't accept the free delivery.  My boyfriend thinks that free pizza means something.

Ugh.

Mom is coming home!

Finally. Everything will be in order once again.

No more itlog + sinangag for breakfast. Corned beef with repolyo or some dry and bland ulam as lunch baon.

No more reminding our house helper what to cook the next day—again and again and again.

No more lazy Sundays.

No more family members going to three separate masses.

No more Dad's wardrobe hanging in our closet—or ours hanging in theirs.

No more grocery-shopping on Saturdays aka spending PhP3,000 weekly.

No more pretending to know which karne or gulay looks fresh.

No more pin-pointing whose turn it is to pay the bills.

No more worrying about Dad being alone on week nights.

No more feeling guilty about attending biñag or birthdays on weekends.

No more counting of days until she gets home.

For the Nth time this morning, Dad told us about the details of Mama's flight back to Manila. And you can't help but notice the excitement in his voice whenever he reminds us of it.  

Just a couple of more sleeps, everything will be back to normal—or so I hope. For those of you who don't know, Gracee has moved to Chicago to live with her now-husband/ boyfriend of so many years, Bong.

That leaves us minus one now. And I wonder how it's gonna be like to have family dinner/ lunch with one less plate on the table, one less cheek to kiss during "Peace be with you", one less birthday cake every year, one less gift to open on Christmas, one less glass clanking on New Year's eve toast, one less ticket on family vacations, one less smile on family pictures.

Corny as it may sound but I know things will never be the same, as how it had been for the past two decades.  And it would just be a matter of time until any of the three of us follow the same path as hers. I just hope it's not too soon.

For now, I'm just glad that Mum is coming home!

Yay!