Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another; for he who
loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law (Romans 13:8).
Saturday, April 14, 2012 ( 8:14 PM ) summer^^ Summer yellow cake Since it's summer time, i thought it best to bake a cake. And what kind of cake is suitable for this season you ask? Of course non other than a Yellow Cake! Color of sunshine, color so bright! I also made butter icing to put on the cake. Yummy it is! (if not for the soapy(?) taste! I dont know where that came from. Ugh!)
Wednesday, February 29, 2012 ( 6:17 PM ) summer^^ Bogota Second Time Around Project CLARO still alive and kicking. Going over 2 years now. Kicking us all in the butt. If only we could kick out some people in the project who arent helping at all!
I was asked to go back to Colombia to help the business execute UAT. So 30 hours and 4 airports later, i was back in Bogota Royal Hotel. I flew with Jovy, our new GPA for order to cash.
It was a very very tough week. Very frustrating and very tiring. System is not ready, data is not ready, business is not ready. Morale is low, people were becoming emotional. Stress was at its highest knowing GoLive was in 6 weeks (during that time).
Went home after 12days, and i never felt the happiest here in going home in any of the business trips ive had. Had a quick stopover too at NY Times Square. That was by far the most interesting layover I've had!
The best thing about Colombia is its people and the other Chevron Latin people we've worked with while we were there. They are very warm and hospitable. We could see the teamwork and the hardwork put by everyone in the project. We made sure we had fun in the limited nonwork hours we had in the trip. And ate lots of good food and drank some good drinks! Chicharron! Mandarino! FTW!
Non-work, i went back again to the Catedral de Sal (which is really fabulous!), the Monserrate (a different feel if you go on a Sunday) and Usaquen (flea market of course!). Then my first time for me to go to Andres in Chia (a fun fun friday night!) and in Andino mall and T-Zone (very nice neighborhood). All out thanks to Maria and her loving family for taking good care of us.
I tried out once again the hotel's gym, hotel's breakfast is just the same, and the hotel room is very cozy. Also found out there's a Catholic church right behind the hotel, in time for Ash Wednesday 2012.
Oh and some trivia... Colombians dont celebrate Valentine's day on Feb14. They celebrate it on September! Interesting, isnt it? That's why j never felt the love season this year, it was just an ordinary Tuesday.
All in all, the trip wasnt that bad at all really. You just have to personally balance the bad with the good stuff in order to remain sane. Thank you to facetime yahoomail and skype, for keeping me connected to the other parts of the world. Glad to be living in a hightech world.
Thank you Lord for this opportunity! I wouldnt mind another business trip coming my way. Brazil. US. Europe! #
1 Shout Outs!
Monday, January 23, 2012 ( 11:10 PM ) summer^^ Katy Perry in Manila! Wouldnt let this one get away! Last location of Katy's California Dreams Tour, she chose Manila! And watched we did. Not only watched but also listened, sang and screamed! She was absofuckinglutely awesome! I felt like living a teenage dream! She did all her top rating songs, and a couple of singles that are yet to be popular. She did a lot of costume changes, kissed a boy (would have been cool if she kissed a girl, and she liked it, tasted her cherry chapstick!) and sprayed water/foam at the end of the show. It was a blast! It's extraterrestrial!
Sunday, January 15, 2012 ( 5:22 PM ) summer^^ First Dish for 2012 Fettuccini Carbonara. Took me about two weeks before i willed myself to really start cooking. This one's easy since i just followed the recipe. Im so proud of my pasta! It wasnt soggy, it wasnt hard. Perfectly just right! But. My fried bacon was a bit overdone, and my sauce is a bit tasteless, they said. Oh well! My family still finished it anyway upto the last string of noodle. Hurray!
( 5:18 PM ) summer^^ First Run for 2012! Well it's still January... I am still hyped up to keep my new year's resolutions :)
16K PSE Bull Run. Held at Bonifacio Global City, Taguig last Jan 8. Boy that was one loooong route. I thought it would never end without me being injured. No training, no preparation. Just wake up, dress up, drive up, and show up at the venue. Then run, walk, drink, run, walk, drink, walk, walk, run, drink,walk, walk, run, walk, drink, walk, and finally run to the finish line! Whooohoo! Longest 2 hours of my life i think. It was soo WORTH it. Medal, Finisher's shirt and bragging rights! Haha just kidding. Meeting Gino of rX93.1 after the run - icing on the cake!!! Oh and thank you to Derek Ramsay for cheering me on at the Buendia flyover! Hahahah!
Sunday, January 01, 2012 ( 2:54 AM ) summer^^ 2012 Resolutions Here's my top5 New Year's resolutions for year 2012 - year of the water dragon. I didnt include anymore getting a boyfriend, since... that's way too obvious. That's like the ground zero of all resolutions. Haha! (Just kidding!)
1. Start cooking. Seriously. It's time to get my cute little ass off the bed and spend more time in the kitchen. I already had a good start like 3-4 years ago. Enrolled in cooking AND baking classes, made a couple of dishes already for the family (and they were superb!). But stopped. Temporarily. No time, no motivation, and again plain laziness. This year will be different. Im gonna be a chef... a junior chef! I'll start with one dish a month :)
2. Continue to blog. Really. This blog is now on its 9th year. Isnt that Wow!!!? Sadly I havent been religious enough though in updating this blog. There are soo many things Id like to post about and share. Even though i know no one's actually visiting and reading my blog. Haha! I personally just love to blog :) So, one entry every two weeks. Deal.
3. Continue running. Definitely. I already have another run booked this coming Sunday. A 16k run, my dear. This is the only exercise Im comfortable doing. What i love about it is that it is not competitive but still gives you a feeling of achievement. It tones your legs and makes you sweat like a man, but could still give you an opportune time to relax your mind and just think nothing, for 30mins or longer (depending on how fast you run :P)
4. Learn/speak a foreign language. Fluently. I want to continue my Spanish classes. This is a very good time since im currently on CLARO project and working mostly with Latin America people. I could practice with them. Que sera sera! Target: level 6.
5. Visit 2 new countries. Hopefully. The traveller that I am! I'm already scheduled to go to Beijing with family this February. So one down, one more new to go! Maybe Cambodia, Vietnam, Australia, or Europe perhaps??? That will be fun! I also wouldnt mind going back to any country i've already been to :)
Lets wait and see! I pray that when i go back to this post again next year in 2013 i can be proud and say to myself that I've done what I had intended to do this 2012. I'm cooking for my partner, running and travelling with him, blogging about him and saying Te Amo to him. Nice!!! Haha! Well i wish myself all the best!
Saturday, December 31, 2011 ( 2:43 PM ) summer^^ 2011 Yearender Blog Entry Ok I'm gonna do what others have been doing... Blogging and summarizing what happened during the last 365 days. Coz I'm gayagaya that way! :D I wasnt able to really blog blog this 2011. What, I only have less than 10 blog entries this year! So shoot me. And I couldnt really come up with a unique excuse for not blogging - just plain busy-ness and laziness :P
So..here goes. Year 2011. What did you bring into my life?
1. Boyfriend. Naahh just kidding!! Still no happy news on this... I was kinda praying this will be the year and that one of them is the guy. But maybe not yet the right time. 2012 - be THE year. I am ready. Yes! :D
2. Travel Adventures! This I believe is the highlight of my year. 5 weeks in Argentina, 1 week in Brazil, 1 week in Colombia, 3 weeks in the US, and 4 days in Korea. Layovers in Qatar and in Japan. May it be for work or for pleasure, I had loved and enjoyed the feeling of flying and going to new places and meeting new people. I've experienced and learned alot from these trips. Things i wouldnt have learned by just staying here at dear ol' Manila. I've mastered the art of packing and unpacking, gotten used to flight connections (both long and short), missing luggage, airport lounges, and bad bad jetlags. Here's hoping to travel more next year!
3. New Friends! My life will definitely be super lonely without these creatures called friends! I'm proud to say i've gained new ones this year (yippee!), being the semi-introvert that i am. Great cool people I never knew existed before. I was successful in rekindling my friendships with some of my classmates from elementary, highschool, college, and grad school. And in doing so, got to know their friends too! Talk about widening my network! I love you friends! You make my world a better place to live!
4. Workaholism. I dont think I've ever worked the hardest in my life the way I worked this year. It was just plain crazy. Shifting working hours from day to afternoon to night, weekend work, working overtime, taking my work at home, working while on the plane or at the airport, dreaming about work, having nightmares about work. Oh my god. I am going to puke just typing the word work now. Resignation crossed my mind, not once but twice this year! Thank God for friends helping me unwind at each end of a workweek. I love you Fridays! Year 2012 please please please be good to me. No more Veena-workaholic.
5. Latin America! The culture, the language, the food, the drinks, the men(but of course!), new girlfriends, the places-to-be... muy muy bien! Work-wise aside, the Spanish and Portuguese people I've met are one of the coolest and sweetest. Their hospitality is a match to Filipino hospitality. I can even see myself getting married to their kind. Chos!!! I enrolled in a Spanish language course at Instituto Cervantes (another venue for me to meet new friends!) here in Manila, and i must say - aprender espanol es mucho dificil! But a bit easier to learn too because of the similarity to some Tagalog words. Im hoping to continue it next year! And I've watched my first live football game too in Argentina, it was more than a sport or a passion to the Latinos - it's a Religion!!! Their local cuisine is also one of the best. Local beers are a must-try! And the Nightlife - very very unforgettable (-that's all I'm going to say ;P Details, only when Im drunk enough!).
6. Love for Running. Start of a new pastime. Start of a healthy lifestyle. Started joining a lot of fun runs this year, starting with 5K, and now doing 10K. Oha! Found joy and peace of mind while running, with all the sweat. Found love in a hopeless place. Haha! Will definitely continue this until next year. Target: Half marathon! Good luck!
7. Closer family ties! We went out on family dates more frequently this year. Watch movie, eat out, go malling, go out of country, stay at home. Could be probably due to us all 3 siblings being single at the same time! Haha! Well it's a good thing. Families are the best.
8. Lastly, 2011 brought me mature wisdom. Not only plain wisdom, but real mature wisdom. I am more matured in handling things, and wiser now in dealing with life's intricacies. I've learned to let go those unimportant people and things and learned to value those who matter the most. Yes I am getting old ugh.
With that, I am saying good bye to 2011 and saying hello to 2012! Thank you for being a part of my life. Have a happy and prosperous new year everyone!!!! Love you all! #
0 Shout Outs!
Wednesday, December 21, 2011 ( 12:48 AM ) summer^^ EAS Sales Christmas 2011 Held at Emil's (and Giselle's) house in New Manila, QC. Beautiful house, good food, fun games, great company. Merry Christmas teammates!
Definitely, the night's not gonna finish without a photo opp with Giselle Sanchez :) Here's one with all the Sales ladies (...the guys are too shy!)
Monday, December 12, 2011 ( 11:56 PM ) summer^^ Now on iPhone Cannot delay it any further. My trusty LG non-smart mobile phone badly needs a replacement. I couldnt make a call nor send one long text message without it dying on me. Its hard keypad is taking its toll on my fingers that it makes me too lazy to reply to texters. Couldnt take pictures with it or go on internet. And, i get all these snobby comments from people around on how classic my phone is. (It is a classic!! That phone has been around the world in all my trips!)
So... Anyway. Yeah. It's about time. Summer^^ is now officially on iPhone!! Hopefully this will make me blog more frequently.
Saturday, July 23, 2011 ( 9:34 PM ) summer^^ Friends for a Reason, Season or a Lifetime
I recently lost a friend. And it just breaks my heart. He didnt die (it would have been more acceptable!). We just really need to end the friendship. Unfriend in Facebook. Cut all communication in text, Ym, and skype. Continue to live life like how it was supposed to before we met each other less than a year ago. Hoping that in doing so, it wil give him a chance to fix whatever is broken in his life.
To you old man, i offer you this video. I still dont know why our paths crossed. But maybe this is how it is supposed to be. I thought we're gonna be friends for a lifetime, like what he said. Apparently he really is just my friend for a reason, he needed something from me and I needed to learn from this experience. And now the need has been met, so we parted ways. It was great while it lasted.
Tuesday, July 19, 2011 ( 7:36 PM ) summer^^ Timog = Puti Started hanging out with a new group of friends recently in Timog , a few from my MBA class, and others i just met there. Fun bunch! Good way to end a toxic week and just unwind. Thanks to Kris for making me feel guilty (FO!?), enough to make me drive to North and just chill with them at Puti bar. Drive was worth it. Time and touch!
Sunday, July 10, 2011 ( 7:40 PM ) summer^^ Visa approved! 10years, US B1/B2 :) Thank you, Lord!
The US interview was an experience. My first time! (since my old Visa before was just via Dropbox application c/o my mom, so no sweat.) I was a nervous wreck for several days before the interview, much more so during the day itself, while waiting inside the embassy. It was more than an hour's wait, but i did not get bored. I cannot take my eyes off the monitor displaying the number being served. They were calling out numbers very randomly. Like in a Bingo game. No pattern whatsoever, or I am not that genius enough to figure out their numbering logic.
There is no pattern as well on who gets rejected or approved. Or, again, im just no genius. But observing the applicants before me, i noticed most of the family applicants and the elderly wore happy smiles on their faces after the interview. And most individual, single-looking applicants had their heads down, looking dejected and about to cry. So you can just imagine my panic. My heart beating so fast i thought I was going to faint.
When my number was called, I was hoping for a guy to be my consul. And luckily i got a guy :) The officer asked more than what i was expecting though and was not smiling the whole time, that I thought he was dubious of me and going to reject me. He asked the usual questions, are you single, do you have kids, how much do you earn, what's the purpose and how long, and where in the US. One Q that i was not prepared was, why did you keep coming back in the US last year?
Thankfully i was able to blurt out good answers that he just said afterwards, "Ok your visa is approved, wait for it in the mail."
Hallelujah!! The best thing too is that all of us, my parents and siblings, got approved as well!
So see you again soon US! Cant wait for vacation! Xoxo!
Tuesday, July 05, 2011 ( 11:03 PM ) summer^^ The Running bug... ...bit me. And the whole of Manila. Fun runs and marathons all around the city. And i tell you, it's not cheap to join 'em. A 5K run usually costs 500 PHP, 10K and 21K runs at 600 and 700 PHP respectively. I dont know how it became popular, but just like any other sports fad such as badminton, business-minded people are taking advantage of this fad to make big bucks by organizing running events. And people like me will bite the bait. Pay money to run, when in fact i can just run anytime anywhere for free.
I am still a newbie at this sport though. Only doing 5K runs for now. And still I cannot run the whole thing! About 1/4 of the time i would just walk it off, prolonging my finish time :(
Speaking of running, i had loved running in Rio de Janeiro. Along Ipanema beach, day or night, with goodlooking Cariocas around. The weather and the view is perfect. I wish i could come back and run there again. :)
Sunday, July 03, 2011 ( 10:53 PM ) summer^^ Fun time at 6-Flags, CA Photo taken last August 2010, during our visit to this most thrilling amusement park Ive ever been to. Taken just right after offboarding a very loop-the-loop-the-loop-the-loop rollercoaster ride (name ive forgotten). One of my many fun weekends during my 3-month assignment in the US.
I've always liked this photo. We've hidden our dizziness and about-to-puke faces pretty well :) This group is the best to be with in an amusement park. All are game to take high-falling, scream-shattering, water-busting rides we could see in the park. Oh YEAH! Oh life!
Come to think of it, living in this world is just like being in an amusement park.You've got pretty cute little stuff going around, frightening haunted places to enter, easy and hard games to play, and exciting (or scary) rides to take. Some rides are free, on some you have to pay. It gives you so many options to enjoy the place. It is entirely upto you on whatever attraction you choose to indulge in. At the end of the day, it is your choice on how you want to experience the park. On how you want to live your life. At the end of it all, what matters is that you enjoyed the ride. And that you dont forget to smile for the camera! It's what you will have left for the memories, anyway. Living is all about facing what's infront of you, and enjoying what life has to offer, no matter if it turns your stomach upside down and makes you wanna throw up.
- Veena, Dino, Roche, Ste and Erwin - living life as it should be lived. Till our next rollercoaster ride, friends!
Monday, June 27, 2011 ( 12:06 AM ) summer^^ More than a year after... A lot has happened that my blog cannot keep up!!! Oh my goodness. I dont know where to start. I was just reading my past posts about turning twenyeight and about life's wheels.. And guess what... Im now twenny nine! One more year to go before the big three-oh. Oh god. That would be THE Day i definitely will not be eggcited about. If i thought 28 was old last year, well, 29 IS old. Pressure is definitely on.
But looking at the bright side of things... Hey i feel im more matured now, more experienced with life, and more than ready as ever in facing whatever life will throw at me. But as serious as this may had sound, I still have the same kind of cheerful outlook in life. Enjoying life and things-happen-for-a-reason kind of thinking. So I might be old in years, but definitely my outlook, and my looks, dont :)
My life's wheels have definitely turned. I got what i had always wanted. I got to travel the world. In business class. I got to stay for 3 months in the US. Been to different states, met a lot of good people, exposed to American working culture, and tried the American kind of dating (that's another story). I got to visit Latin America, never in my wildest dream i dreamnt of going there, but i did! Oh, Buenos Aires - i like your steaks, wine, beer, Iguazu, football and tango. Oooh choripan and the Latinos too, of course! Yo amo Argentina! Then there's Rio de Janeiro. Ciudad de maravilhosa! I heart Rio. The Christ the Redeemer, Sugar Loaf, Ipanema beach, Lagoa, running, havaianas, feijoada, caipirinhas, and definitely the cute Cariocas! Belleza Brasil!!!
Along with the travels came the shopping and photo opps! Two of my favorite things in the world :) i sooo love life!
...Even if dont have a lovelife. Ugh. Yes, Im still waiting for that wheel to turn to the right direction. Patiently waiting. Secretly hoping. Sincerely praying.
"Bad things are not the worst things that can happen to us. NOTHING is the worst thing that can happen to us!"
"What we can easily see is only a small percentage of what is possible. Imagination is having the vision to see what is just below the surface; to picture that which is essential, but invisible to the eye."
summer^^
