A (week)Day in the Life of Relocated Newbie

I wake up in the morning now to this...

And because I generally have a hard time waking up, I had to buy myself one of these...

I hop on one of these (the bus, not the kids!)...

get off here...

walk down this street...

And make my way to my new work place...

through the lobby...

and over to my desk in the client servicing area.

I'll head upstairs....

into the pantry for some coffee in the morning...

Or a glass of wine in the late afternoon...

Lunch I'll grab in the area...

Usually some Malay...

or generally Asian cuisine... 

Moroccan...

or sometimes even Mexican.

Sometimes at the end of the work day, the company will celebrate something out on the balcony, 

like an upcoming trip...

for an upcoming event.

Evenings, I'll either grab dinner 

or drinks (or both!) with friends...

before hoping on one of these (or an expensive taxi)...

and heading home for the evening, where I'll tuck msyelf into bed.. and do it all over again the next day.

Hallelujaha! I've survived 3 weeks of this new life I've jumped headfirst into. My old life feels like a million years ago.. and at the same time, this new chapter seems both familiar and strange at the same time. 

Week 4 coming at me shortly. Will keep you posted.

textures: holy week '11

I love patterns. I love textures. Here's a look at my holy week trip through design-tinted glasses. 

 Kitchen flooring in the over 100-year old Locsin home (Jaro, Iloilo)

  Stone steps at the Talisay Ruins (Talisay, Bacolod)

  Ornate old frame on wall of Balay Negrense (Silay, Bacolod)

  Rosaries galore being sold at Jaro Cathedral (Jaro, Iloilo)

   Exterior facade of Jaro Cathedral (Jaro, Iloilo)

   Open window at Jaro Cathedral (Jaro, Iloilo)

  Friends making way out of banca (Jordan, Guimaras)

   Bamboo at Trappist Monk Abbey (Jordan, Guimaras)

   Door at Miag-ao Church door (Miag-ao, Guimaras)

   Miag-ao facade (Miag-ao, Iloilo)

   Street side cotton candy as (one of many) roadtrip snacks (Iloilo) 

     Empty glass bottles (Jaro, Iloilo)

    Light switch at Nelly Gardens (Jaro, Iloilo) 

rant: phooonnneee eetttiiiquuuueetttteee

So, there are a number of things I'd like to blog about given the events of the last few weeks, but will need time to compose each of things I'd like to share. Time I still have yet to make, but may not find this week.

But there is ALWAYS time to rant and share the little irritations in life that make it more... interesting? This particular one has been my flavor of the month recently:

• When you're super in the zone working on something and you pick up a phone call to hear: "Helllloooo....?! Goooodd affternoooon. Thiiisss issssss blaaaah blaaaaahh. Maaaaayyyyy I plllleeeaasseee spppeaaaakkk toooooo...." 

Ay yay yay! Get to the point people! And get to the point FAST!

I'm connected to the main trunk line so I KNOW i'll always get a call like this everyday. So when I'm in not in the mood, I'll never want to pick up the phone. I always do though. And when I'm in a super irritable mood,  I am always so tempted to respond by putting the phone down. But I never do.  Hehe :)

belated happy bday

AFTER MAD RUSH OF TODAY, I FINALLY HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO SIT & BE STILL... 35 MIN AFTER THE END OF MY BIRTHDAY.                              MUST B SOUNDING LIKE A BROKEN RECORD ALREADY, BUT I DONT THINK I CAN EVER EXPRESS ENOUGH GRATITUDE FOR ALL THATS HAPPENED IN THE LAST 365 DAYS. READY & RARING TO CELEBRATE THE NEXT YEAR! I WRITE THIS AS I WAIT TO BOARD MY FLIGHT TO KOREA, HEAVY SLEEPY EYED, LOOKING AT A MAN WITH THE GRIZZLYIEST LOOKING TOE NAILS I EVER DID SAW, TRYING TO IGNORE THE ACHE IN MY THROAT & STRANGE SMELL OF MY NEW TRAVEL BAG AND WONDERING WHY I AM ONLY ABLE TO BLOG VIA MY MOBILE IN CAPS AND BLOCK PARAGRAPH. AND YES, NOT PAYING ATTENTION TO THE LONGEST RUNNING SENTENCE IVE WRITTEN TO DATE. BUT YES, GRATEFUL, EXCITED & READY FOR MY 29TH YEAR :)

simple serendipity: summer time

While summer brings on crazy heat (which in turn, can bring out the crazy in people..or the crazy in me at least), it does bring out the best in Mother Nature.

Trees fat with fruit and bursting with blooms. Green isn't just green, it's GREEN. Foliage of all shapes and textures and sizes pulse with life. My gulay, could I go on...

beautiful tree i see while walking out of the village 

 orchid snapped during a recent shoot

 fruit bearing trees in our garden

  awesome tree we kept on driving by in iloilo

 layers of green from a tree at the trappist abbey in guimaras

pretty pink blossoms from the trappist abbey in guimaras

Be Right Back

Over the weekend I walked out of store with 2 bags, realizing 10 seconds later I had originally walked in with 4.

Yesterday, I walked out of a convenience store with the tongs for the siopao / siomai steamer.

Today I brought my lunch box with me to the bathroom, instead of the office's green toiletries basket.

Thank God for moments of clarity shortly after.

Ay yay yay. I'm hoping my mind returns from its over extended lunch break sometime soon. 

Wrap Up: Work

Resigning from a job you love has got to be one of those most difficult things I've had to do in a long long time. So difficult that I couldn't help but burst into tears when I did. 

The environment and the accounts are fun, challenging and inspiring. As are the people. 

I will definitely miss the breadth of projects I've had the opportunity to be part of in the last year, creating and executing -

• brand identity systems

• one gazillion brand campaigns translated through print ads, brochures, billboards, boardups, and corporate AVPs

• signage & wayfinding programs

• shoots, shoots and more shoots

• coffee table books

• space & event planning

• museum exhibits (well.. museum exhibit lang, lol)

As I'm preparing for turn over, I'm still very much involved in the day to day operations and even planning for the near future. It's making me very sentimental; a part of me yearns to be involved in the up and coming projects, to get to know the newbies coming in and further my learning and relationship with this group.

But I know I'm where I'm supposed to be. 

With that, I take comfort and look forward to the wealth of opportunities I see waving at me from just around the corner. 

one of many awesome views of sunset from our office window

 my tag team both during work and after; 

T+E  doing an interview in a Dumaguete market for a coffee table book project

 B doing what she does best.. imparting wisdom, lots of it

  i know it's nearing sunset when i see these junk yard doggies (our next door neighbors), 

climb ontop of a park car for their late afternoon snooze

 K hamming it up during weekly workload meetings

  constant source of advice & entertainment, S + M

   work fun, both in and out of the office

mock up table - also everyone's favorite place for lunch and laughs

 food styling for a photo shoot

 video shoot for a corporate AVP

  watching our peg come to life for a print ad campaign 

  exhibit design

  hours of editing 

  my first book project!

  rush video installation for a cocktail event

  scaffolding for a video shoot around the city

 area landscaping and event space planning

recent rush book project we put together