Baguio

Last time I was in Baguio was Concert Tour '99. I was 17 and in 11th grade, traveling with fellow show choir members during the school's yearly outreach program. While other groups were planting veggies at the GeoFarm or building homes with Habitat.. us "artists" performed in public schools throughout a group of pre-selected provinces.

Before that, was Baguio with my family in 9th grade.

What do I remember about this popular mountain getaway? Aside from the country club, cool weather and strawberries.. not much. So when the opportunity arose to roadtrip with friends to sing for a wedding of another friend's sister, I said YES!

It was a weekend of flowers...

purple blooms!

i think i must've exclaimed at every. single. plant. and. bloom

...food...

succulent ishtrawberries & delightful local yogurt

finally! strawberry taho! 

...friends.. 

Brea goes to Baguio 

our lovely and ever-gracious hosts for the weekend

and fun. 

you'd think we'd tire of singing.. 

silly fun @ Minesview Park

We witnessed a beautiful wedding...

t + n + k

beautifully done event! 

.. did some sight seeing.. 

pasalubong shopping @ Little Flower Convent

poor pink horsey :( 

.. and spent a lot of time laughing and enjoying each other's company. 

who needs tsinelas when you've got an awesome pair of stacked heels?!

fun is never without food

oh the laughter that filled our bedroom that weekend!

All in all, an awesome weekend :)

Hopefully, I don't have to wait another 12 years before getting an opportunity to go to Baguio again! 

Donsol

rED went to Donsol this year.

mayon volcano greets me as I deboard from my 10-hour bus ride from Manila

Shortest (2.5 hours) and most remote event to date so logistics was a bit of a challenge. What could you do in that short of a time that would make the most impact? How do you transport all of the rED inventory in and out of Donsol? How do I prepare and run this all of this by myself?!

kiddies helping bring in the broken chairs

Then during the event, it rained right before the build so I had a mini-panic attack trying to figure out how to move the event indoors given that all the classrooms were being used for well.. class. I didn't even want to think about how dangerous and cramped it would be to have 80 kids hammering and sawing in a tiny classroom with very dim light! Miraculously, the rain stopped for the few hours the event ran so we proceeded as planned.

kiddies sharing an umbrella before the rain started to pour

Recently we've been doing elementary school builds and those have posed to be a challenge as well. My great tagalog skills + gazillion kids screaming in bicolano  = big headache + lots of wasted inventory.

briefing the kiddies (picture c/o JPD)

None the less, the event went well! The volunteers (many visiting the Philippines for the first time), had an opportunity to see the state of facilities many public schools are in whilst being won over by the  kiddies. The kiddiess on the other hand had fun asking the volunteers question after question, while fixing up the very classrooms they learn from- hopefully leaving them with a sense of ownership over their school. We left having painted 2 murals, fixed-up close to 40 chairs and planted 70 seedlings.

quick energizer! (picture c/o JPD)

Rest of the time in Donsol was glorious as I had an opportunity to relax- and goodness knows opportunities like that don't come so frequently anymore. My free afternoon was spent sitting on my ass reading a book with mango shake in hand. Evenings were spent either schmoozing poolside or drinking endless supplies of wine and champagne in a 100-year old home that was guzzied up for a party.

nothing but freedom ahead!

One also doesn't leave Donsol without swimming with the whale sharks and going on a firefly cruise down a mangrove-lined river. The butanding experience was surreal! The first time I dunked my head into the ocean, I saw this HUGE maw swimming right at me! I froze for a few seconds before finally swimming out of the way and simply watching in awe as it swam by me.. so close to almost touch! I was swimming along side and chasing it as fast and as far as I could by the next two. Glorious they are!

BIO (butanding interaction officer) on the look out for whale sharks

The firefly cruise I felt may have been more amazing if we had traveled further down the river. Our 6-seater bankga had "parked" itself beside our assigned tree and there we watched the awesome synchronized light show (ie: mating dance!) of the fireflies. I can almost image how breathtaking it would be to see ALL the trees down the pitch black river dotted with twinkling firefly light. What I actually found even more staggering was the night sky. Free from the glow of city lights, the dark blue sky seemed to stretch on and on and on. And the stars?! Stunning. So. Many. Stars.

I wish there were still ceilings like this!

If only I had a the appropriate camera to capture the Mother Earth spectacle I witnessed that weekend!

Firefly cruise time!

Leading up to the weekend, I was consumed with how to get work done in time and how I would manage running the rED event. I hadn't thought at all about the days that would follow- that they would be so... relaxing. So though I did sneak in some work (thanks - or no thanks - to the wonders of email connected mobiles), the weekend forced me to rest and enjoy. Which we all do need once in a while yes?

sorsogon sunset

Clouds

I've always really loved watching the sky...
... the magic play and perfect intertwining of light and color during dusk and dawn,
... the endless majesty of sky blue with billows of fleecy clouds while on the road, most especially during a road trip.

I've spent the last week absent from living thanks to a scary fever that just wouldn't quit. That and other unfavorable events have been enough to pull my spirit down recently. So I need to collect myself and recharge before I attack the upcoming week and start spreading myself across the things I need to accomplish.

Perhaps it's the earthy Taurus in me, but a no fail pick me upper is spending a few quiet moments soaking up nature.

With that thought in mind, will definitely try whiling away my Sunday out in the garden armed with cold drink, warm pastry and good book.

That's A Good Boy

Strange not to have him by my feet when I wake up in the morning, or peep out groggily from under the table as we all troop out for the day.

A bipolar, insecure but lovable dog who made sure his presence was felt in whatever it was we were doing, the house is eerily quiet without him. No more crazy barking when someone is at the gate or exuberant energy every time you (he) wanted to go out.

While I would love to walk you, honk your nose, pull your ears, or call you over so you can nose-dive into my side one last time, I take comfort knowing that you are  happily bounding around doggie heaven chasing rats and basketballs without a care in the world.

You will be fondly missed old lady.

Mcdo Packaging

Colleagues were lunching on Mcdonalds during a Saturday office-wide meeting last week. My eyes wandered to the packaging bunched up on the table and was instantly amused with what I saw.

Perhaps it's been a while since I've ordered a Mcdonalds item that came in cardboard packaging or perhaps this is a relatively new gimik?

I'm thinking this is the fastfood giant's way of trying to trick reassure their customers that their food is made with the ehm.. most natural of ingredients?

Regardless, I found the icons rather darling. lol.

Life Tools from Secret Santa

I knew who my secret santa was at work, so when he asked me what I wanted for the allotted budget, I told him I would love a pencil case filled with essential supplies.

Not only did I receive essential tools for work.. I also received essential tools for life, lol.

As per my secret santa...

A ruler to measure my success...
An eraser to erase away my worries...
White out to wipe out my anxiety...
Colored ballpens to color my life..
and lastly..
Post-its to help me remember the important things in life.

O diba?!

A Work Update

My boss unexpectedly asked me to lunch last week, so we trekked over to a nearby deli for pumpkin soup, caesar salad a few tapas.

Over the next house, she asked me a number of things: how I've been enjoying work and the design industry, how my relationship is with everyone else, plus my opinion about a slew of work / attitude/ organizational/ etc/ etc -related topics.

Outside of chitchat, the lunch was also an unexpected performance evaluation in where I remember a number of things:

• She likened me and her two top honchos as a great triumvirate 
• She's impressed with my organization & time management skills, my ability to motivate people and my attitude towards work & life
• She adjusted my salary
• Instead of hiring a co-manager, she asked what I felt about taking on a new-ish role in where I would manage all the accounts (which is what I'm doing now, not by choice.. lol), but have an assistant design manager that I could mentor

I felt  number of things during that meeting. 

First of all, I was thrilled, flattered and grateful for the acknowledgement. The new setup being proposed is a throw back to the time of a previous legend design manager, so I was a little floored that my boss sees me to have the same potential. I also know I'm a lot tougher on myself than I should be so hearing praise is always a little surreal and jarring - but nonetheless, I am very appreciative of being recognized for the hard work I've been doing, most especially since I'm enjoying what I do. Goodness knows I've been in situations where hard work, enjoyment and acknowledgement are definitely NOT on the same page.

It's nice to finally see the fruits of your hard labor, where seedlings planted over the course of the last few months are finally starting to grow and flourish with the hard work and joy I've put into my career.

On the other hand, it felt bitter sweet and those who know of my plans this year, will surely know why.  Could also explain the overall tone of my post.. where instead of spazzing and freaking out about a wonderful surprise at the start of the year, I feel I'm being very.. conservative with my feelings. Lol.

Despite plans for the year very much looming from the back of my mind though, I had to remind myself that I'm living in the present, which is what prompted me to tell my boss that I would very much appreciate the opportunity to stretch role at work.

On that note, I'm excited to see what's in store for me at work. Start of the year, and all of us at the firm feel like its been eons since the holidays. Two shoots in the last week, a number of presentations and a variety of other approaching deadlines has everyone in a tizzy at work. This is going to sound a little geeky of me.. but I'm actually really glad I have no big plans for the next few weeks. There's really nothing like getting back into a familiar routine..