These Days

My friend since college, Yayan, wed Joel on December 16, 2012 at The Mango Farm in Antipolo.  Neil was the ring bearer. The beautiful couple.

Some pictures from the 2 office parties.  The first one was for the whole Manila office and it was held on December 1 at White Space.  The different organizations were assigned a decade and we were 90s. Backstreet Boys Backstreet Boys + Spice Girls Main entertainment for the night - Freestyle   The department party happened on December 14 at Murphy's in Makati.  The night's theme was Rockstar.  The 3 analytics teams all joined up for this night's festivities. Manila Analytics  Business Analytics + Revenue Management Revenue Management What we also do around this time is take team pictures for the e-cards that will be sent to stakeholders.  I made this year's layout. =) RM Team (minus 1)

I found this book in the Biography section at Powerbooks and picked it up because I have previously read The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver.  This is about her family's experiment to eat local - i.e. raising, planting the food that they will eat for a whole year, or else buying from local farmers.  I was interested in the concept and was curious about how they were able to manage it. This book opened with the family moving from Arizona to a farm in Virginia.  Barbara talked about raising chicken and turkey, planting heirloom vegetable breeds, making cheese, etc.  It was all very interesting to me. While the narrative was good, I appreciate this book more for the ideas that were presented.  We live in a truly global era such that the produce that is grown in one country can easily be made available in other countries.  We enjoy our choices and forget to consider the amount of fuel needed to transport these products to where we are. ...

This book was the gift I received during our office party's exchange gift last Friday.  Although I had a few wishes listed, I was really glad to have received this one.  I first saw it at Fully Booked, children's section.  I don't discriminate and I think some of the best books were written for kids.   I scanned the first few pages, was intrigued and then filed the title in my mental list of books to read someday. I read the book over the weekend and finished it on Monday.  I really enjoyed it.  It's a story about 4 gifted children (Reynie, Sticky, Kate and Constance) recruited by Mr. Benedict through a series of tests for a very important mission.  They were admitted to the Learning Institute for the Very Enlightened where they find themselves in precarious situations as they try to thwart the sinister plans of the founder Mr. Curtain. There are a lot of interesting characters and plot twists in this book and as I was reading it, the movie was ...

Neil's school had their annual Christmas program on Monday at the Philam Theater.  Nei'ls class practiced their presentation weeks before the show and it's great to see everything and everyone come together for this event.  I'm always excited to see Neil perform (stage mother mode) and he did really well. Having fun on stage. Look at that face! Gaah! I love you, Neil!!! Eto pa! This is the second number with all the kids from the other branches.  Neil was in the middle, back row which was not his place during rehearsal.  I positioned myself on the left side of the stage and panicked a little bit when I did not see him there.  Nalipat lang pala.  I had to run and find a new spot for coverage. (Video coming soon) Happy day!

Carlo and Ces December 9, 2012 Fernbrook, Las Pinas The wedding was at 3PM and I was still ironing Rich's barong at around 2PM.  We anticipated light traffic on a Sunday and we're familiar with the route, having lived in Cavite for years.  Except that we were wrong about the 3PM start time.  The invitation, says 2PM!  Needless to say, we had to rush!  I haven't grromed yet so I frantically gathered all my things and did my face-fixing in the car. We got to the venue and learned the actual start time was 3PM.  This time, I am thankful for buffers.  We still had a few minutes to spare.  We used the time to buy takeout at the nearby McDo as I did not have lunch yet and was feeling hungry.  I ate in the car and then we proceeded to the chapel.  The processional was just starting. The bride, Rich's officemate. More of Rich's officemates at the reception. I have admired this dome from afar, especially at night when it's all ...

1st Kids Yoga Christmas Presentation Urban Ashram, The Fort December 8, 2012 Neil has been going to Kids Yoga almost every Saturday since October.  Last Saturday's session was special because it was the Christmas presentation.  They combined the classes from Brixton in Pasig and The Fort.  There were more kids, teachers and parents than usual which made for a riot!  It was fun though. Artwork from previous classes displayed on the wall. Face painting! Neil made this face because he said the brush was cold.  But he kept still and kept the paint on his face the whole time.  His first face paint years ago lasted less than 5 minutes because he kept touching it. The teacher was going for blue bear. Yoga parents. Yoga time! They awarded certificates to the kids. Some of the attendees. Fun Saturday afternoon!