These Days

Monday, February 22, was Presidents' Day so Dong did not have class.  We were all present for beach day in San Diego! We drove out to a Jolla and Mission beaches, but not before checking out Main Street in El Cajon. I will let the pictures speak... Downtown El Cajon La Jolla Beach La Jolla Beach La Jolla Cove Can you see the seals? Crashing waves at La Jolla La Jolla Cove Mission Beach On the way home, we stopped by Mt. Helix.  I didn't know about this place before but I'm glad Chuck thought of going there.  The view was amazing... Top of Mt. Helix

After Atlanta, San Diego!  Whee! I've looked forward to my San Diego mini-vacation the whole time I was in conference (actually, even before flying out from Manila).  Sooo excited to see Nang Lani and family again.  And it may be because I really needed to see family after being away from Richard and Neil for a week. I had booked the 8:40PM flight from Atlanta, then rebooked to 7:05PM.  I was actually in the airport and able to make it to the ~5PM flight but they were already full because of the NBA All-Star Weekend.  I just hung around the airport waiting for my flight, which unfortunately departed late and landed late (had to circle LAX).  I was supposed to arrive 9:17PM in LAX but ended up landing ~11PM.  Then we had to wait very long for the bags to be released.  It was almost 12MN when we left LAX and arrived almost 2AM in El Cajon.  Long travel, I was tired but happy.  (It stormed in CA that day and Nang Lan said the drive from SD to LAX was very slow at some point becaus

As I mentioned in my previous post, the Americas Sales and Marketing meeting agenda was packed.  But it actually started Tuesday afternoon so we had a day and a half to do some actual work.  To take advantage of my being in the corporate offices, I had scheduled a couple of meetings beforehand, to get inputs on projects I'm working on. Everyone who came to the office on Valentine's got this very pretty cookie.   Actually did not open it for a few days because it was just tooo pretty!  Eventually, I did eat it.  It was very good but too sweet for my taste. This is the actual agenda of the ASM meeting.  Everyone is expected to adhere to the schedule.  The punishment for being late to the general sessions is you get to sing infront of everybody.  Everybody = an audience of 450 people.  Even if there were parties practically every night, you can bet that people showed up on time. Highlights: Brand presentations that brought the IHG brands to life. Witnessed a portion

I traveled to Atlanta Feb 12-18 for the IHG Americas Sales and Marketing All-Team Meeting.  This is my second ASM meeting, the first one was in May 2010 (when I traveled with Richard and Neil).  It's set up like a conference and the agenda was packed.  But this is something I looked forward to because the one last year was very well organized, informative and engaging.  It's also another opportunity to set up a few face-to-face meetings with the people I work with.  More on the work stuff in another post. =) I left Manila on February 12.  It was an uneventful but long flight.  The thing that I had been dreading was the subzero temperatures in the forecasts.  I had my winter clothes ready in my carry-on bag because I didn't want to be miserable in the cold.  What do you know?  The sun was up and my sweater proved sufficient.=)  Thanks for the warm welcome, Atlanta! I booked a shared ride shuttle at the airport for USD20 but nobody else came so I had my personal van goin

It's been a while since I last read fiction.   I've heard about this book and people were generally impressed by it.  I finally got a copy a few weeks back and it was really engrossing.  I finished it in a day, despite all of the other stuff that needed to get done.  A self-enforced break. =) I cheated on this book though.  I was researching whether I should read it or not and landed on Wikipedia , which divulged the complete plot.  I already knew what it was about but the story is really extraordinary I still had enough wonder to go through it.  How would the author, Suzanne Collins tell the story?   Really well!  I am looking forward to reading the next two books in the trilogy.

Pakyaw  is one of the many group deal sites that have suddenly taken Manila (and wallets!) by storm.  I've registered and FB-liked most of the them but the first deal I ever bought was from Pakyaw.  It's the Corregidor tour at 50% off for 4 people.  I had planned to go with the parents during their Manila visit in April and here was a perfect opportunity to save money on the tickets. It wasn't a hassle-free transaction though.  I paid using my credit card and then the site gave me an error.  The amount was charged to my credit card but I did not get the vouchers.  The deal was already closing so I had to re-transact, as advised by the Pakyaw staff.  It took several phone calls and emails to Pakyaw and BPI but I am happy to report that the amount has been credited back.  In fairness to Pakyaw, they were generally responsive and called me back several times.  They could do better wrt to issue tracking because I seemed to be providing the same information to different people

I am chronicling the Atlanta trip as it goes along... Latest post at the top. Feb 18, 5:13PM .  Sitting at the Delta lounge in Atlanta.  The conference has ended, and there were certainly a LOT of post-worthy moments in the last week but I was too tired to write them.  I'll just do the whole story when I get back to Manila.  In four days.  Right now, I am waiting to board the plane for LAX, visiting family in San Diego again.=)  It's a good thing I was able to move my flight out from 8:40 to 7:05.  I was hoping to get the 5:40, but I wasn't sure the meeting would end early enough for me to make that flight.  And when I checked today, the flight is full.  Apparently for the NBA All Star Weekend. Feb 12, 3:19AM .  Yes, even though I made the effort to sleep early last night (~10PM) to correct my body clock, I was still up at 2AM.  What to do when you can't sleep?  I read the Bible, following the 2010 reading plan, which has now spilled to the second month of 2011.  Al

The theme for this month is GET TOGETHER . We reconnected with a lot of friends this month. =) Jan 3 - Dinner at Gloria Maris with Jong and Joel a.k.a. NYorker in Manila. Jan 8 - Carlo dropped by the condo.  We drove him to the airport.  He's traveling to the US. Jan 9.  Dasma kids' long overdue get-together.  A few were not able to make it but this was a really good number. Jan 15 - Joy's birthday at their condo. Jan 16 - Breakfast with Caloy&Charm, Joy&Erick. Jan 21 - Visited Josh&Dida and Gabrielle at Medical City.  Welcome, baby! Jan 21 - Grand opening of Suds Makati. Jan 22 - Impromptu lunch at Ian&Au's house in Cavite. Jan 27 - Dinner  at Yellow Cab with Jong, Karyn&Jan. Jan 28 - Delivered a talk in UP as part of the IE Days celebration.  This is not really aligned to the theme but definitely a highlight of the month. Jan 29 - Breakfast at Salcedo Market with Jong, Karyn&Jan. Jan 29 - Carlo's despedida lunch at

Neil is due for another haircut and last Saturday was good as any to get one. =) BEFORE He still doesn't like getting his hair cut in these places so he was crying (screaming?) the whole time.  But the barbero was quick and patient so that helped a lot. AFTER We walked around Glorietta. They have mimes and clowns at selected areas, informing people that the walkway to SM is already blocked.  Good entertainment, too.  Kudos to the person who thought about this gimmick. FREE BALLOON I also did something that was overdue - get new glasses.  It's good to be able to see again. =) No photo of me but here's one of Neil and Rich inside the Spex display area. BOYS ON DISPLAY

Rich has been trying to persuade me to buy this book for weeks now.  It's a(nother?) cookbook.  And I've been hesitating because the price is quite hefty at P800, hardcover is P2500.  I thought you could easily check for recipes online! he sent me a link with a review so I started to consider.  Multiple conversations later, I just agreed.  Monday morning, we became the proud owners of Kulinarya! I must say, this is the best Filipino cookbook I have ever seen.  The paper is thick, it's very well-written and the photos are very pretty!  It would make a great gift, especially for family abroad. Yesterday, I cooked Guinataang Kalabasa at Sitaw.  I can still improve the presentation (who cares about presentation if you're hungry?) but the it tasted really good.  Proof?  There were no leftovers. Haha!

Weekends are typically for relaxation and just taking things slow... Typically.  The previous weekend was definitely an exception because it was packed with activities. First of all, I came home from work past 1AM on Saturday because I had a meeting that started at midnight.  I fell asleep probably asleep close to 2AM.  I had to set my alarm for 6:30AM because we were to meet friends for breakfast at the Salcedo weekend market. I wanted to take Neil to the park, but he was still too sleepy by the time we had to leave.  So it was just Em and I who went to meet Karyn and Jan.  We took a few photos first, then walked to the park. Going around Salcedo Park on Saturdays is one of my favorite things to do.  Mostly I just look at stuff, take pictures and and enjoy being in the midst of commerce.=)  My breakfast was French galette.  Em's was tortang talong.  Sorry, no pictures.  We were too hungry!  Jong met us at the park. It was close to 9AM when we got back to the condo.  Carl

One thing that I would remember January 2010 for is that this is the month of my first ever speaking engagement.  Whee! I received and email on Jan 13, inviting me to be one of the speakers in UP for the IE Days celebration.  I've wanted to do this kind of sharing since last year, and now that there was a opportunity, I actually hesitated.  The usual concerns of stepping out of my comfort zone... But I remember what Em said about becoming Yes People .  Meaning, say yes to opportunities and open oneself up to new experiences.  I called Rich to tell him about it and to my surprise, he discouraged me.  I was disappointed that he wasn't supportive so when I came home, I told him about it.  And it was a good thing I did (and not sulk/tampo over what he said).  He thought I said 'mag-sticker', i.e. putting on stickers and not speaker.  Haha! So I confirmed.  It was a go for my first talk. I prepared my outline and looked through it every so often.  I was actually busy t