Back to work

Last night I went to bed at 8:30, buti naman nakatulog din kaagad ako.

Why too early?

Kailangan ko kasi gumising ng 4:30 a.m., aside from it's the first day of work after a week long off, tinawagan din kasi ako nong isang boss (CFO) kung maari ko raw siya sunduin sa airport para derecho na raw siya sa office from the airport, nakikisuyo arrival niya raw ng 06:00 a.m., bale almost 45 minutes ang travel time from the city center to airport. I need to take shower pa kaya ganon kaaga ako gumising. Hayon, nakaalis nga ako ng bahay ng 5:10 a.m.

Obviously nag-demand ng favor ang boss na ‘to, okey lang sakin minsan lang naman makisuyo, ang kaso delayed yong flight niya ng 3 hours, at ang siste dumating ng 9:00 a.m.

Kaya ginawa ko since I arrived at the airport 6:00 a.m., and learned that the flight was delayed, from there I went directly to office, tamang-tama dumating ako sa opis ng 7:00 a.m., on time para sa “welcome party” for personnel & staff. Usually kasi, tradisyon na sa opis after long holidays may pa welcome party pagbalik sa opis. Ang handa ay light breakfast, sandwiches and pastries, some finger foods, fruit juices, brewed coffee and tea.

Some of the pictures during our company's welcome party to personnel & staff this morning.

As expected during first day of work after the long holidays, madaming rush na trabaho, busy until 12:00 p.m., but I have to leave the office at 1:30 p.m. for the routine banking call at 2:00 p.m.

My meeting with our bank's relationship manager lasted only for 30 minutes, kaya by 2:45 p.m. nasa house na ako. After eating lunch, eto nagsusulat nitong post and nanonood ng breaking news gawa raw ng grabeng baha daw sa Metro Manila at Q.C. and the nearby areas and provinces...lampas ulo na raw baha due to the tropical typhoon Ondoy.

Tsk…tsk…tsk…eto kaya ang ganti ng mother nature gawa ng barado ang mga ilog at estero ng basura at hindi makadaan ang tubig sa tamang daan, o hindi kaya isang signos at kamalasan dala ng pag anunsyo ni Erap na tatakbo ulit siya sa pagka-pangulo ng Pinas..?

Iisa lang ang pulso nito, kailan kaya TAYO mamumulat at matututo?

God, please have mercy!

Ayaw matulog ng gabi...

I really have to sleep early, at least 10:00 p.m. dapat nasa mundo na ako ng kawalan, pero alive na alive pa ako with my unusual adrenaline rush, time check its past midnight.

Ahhhh…is this the effect of too much caffeine in my system having cups of tea the whole day and a couple of power horse energy drink? Or nasobrahan ng pansit canton-bihon I ate at least today three plates in different sittings naman heheheh (kasarapan kasi). Kaya eto nagti-trip ako ng yogurt mainam daw na pampaantok, at saka saging—or kaya a glass of milk. I chose yogurt, para iwas hangin sa tiyan.

I have to sleep early, starting Saturday back to regular routine of waking up 5:30 a.m., back to normal na ulit pasok na 8-hour a day, 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. pasok ko, unlike nong Ramadan na 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. lang. I usually wake-up early para hindi magahol sa oras at para iwas traffic, medyo malayo kasi location ng office ko, it’s at the suburb, etong tirahan ko malapit sa city center—pag traffic halos abutin ako ng 30 minutes sa daan. I usually leave the house 6:30 a.m., at 7:00 a.m. nasa office na ako niyan. Tiyak na sa darating na Sabado—bugbog sarado ulit sa work loads, it’s the first working day after a 9-day holiday break kaya expected na ang hush and rush sa work station.

I’ve been to EP (eastern province) last Sunday, until Tuesday. It’s very awesome—panalo ulit moments don, eto ang ebidensya—inihaw na bangus and pusit, and of course mga kaberks.

Piyestang-piyesta nong Sunday night sa Half-Moon Bay, we were there from 8:00 p.m. to 2:00 a.m. Halos wala ng malugaran yong ibang excursionists, luckily kahit papano we were able to find a narrow space, nagkasya na lang kami.

On my way sa EP, medyo may moderate sandstorm kaya si Mang Yaris ang daming spots sa hood na tinamaan ng tiny sharp rocks, kawawa naman may mga sugat heheheh.

Earlier, I forced myself to clean my room—kaya eto ang linis ulit, yehey, iwas allergy ulit ako, kailan kaya ‘to masusundan, siguro in six months time, nyek! One time I had this post, click here—about the possibility ba na may tumirang gagamba sa kuwarto ko, true enough may nakuha nga akong gagamba, saan kaya galing yon, buti hindi pa ako kinakagat, argghhh!

My big boy has a reward from me, kasi kinausap niya ako ng maayos at kumanta pa over the phone, kanina napadaan ako sa Al Garawi, eto ang reward mo a new pair of CAT shoes. Can’t believe your foot size, at your age of four, thirty-two size paa mo, para hindi kaagad sumikip kinuha kita ng 34’.

Meron pa sana akong ikukuwento sa susunod na lang—my successive yawns telling me to cease, salamat naman at inaantok na ako.

Hanggang sa muli…

EID MUBARAK

EID MUBARAK sa mga mahal nating kapatid na Muslim...

Eid Al Fitr, Insha'allah sa darating na Sunday...

Kaya naman, yesterday we started our long holiday--back to work sa Saturday pa, Sept. 26, at eto habang nag mumuni-muni dito sa bahay kung ano mga gagawin nitong mga darating na araw habang walang pasok, nagba-browse ako ng mga blogs, sa tindi kasi ng work loads lately, walang time na mag-navigate sa mga blog sites nitong nakaraang mga weeks.

Siguro, punta ako ng Eastern Province sa makalawa para madalaw si bayaw at ibang mga kaberks don.

Ciao tutti!

33.3%

Sabi ni wifey inaamag na daw ang huling post ko...

Alam na alam nya isasagot ko..."I don't have the luxury of time..."

Heheheheh...

Of course busy lang...sa totoo lang pag Ramadan kasi six hours din lang trabaho ko, kasama siyempre sa working hours ng mga Muslim brothers sa office, alangan naman na mag eight hours ako, kaya ang siste from 9am to 3pm ang trabaho--kaya laging naghahabol sa oras, at sakit ng ulo naku po yong pag follow-up ng mga bagay-bagay sa bangko, lahat ata inaantok, pati RM's (Relationship Managers).

The good side during Ramadan yong mga Iftar/breakfast invitations, almost every other day na sa mga garden restos and hotels kami with my other bosses, well sabit lang ako, hindi pala--invited din siyempre, yan kasi ang isa sa mga advantages pag may network ka sa mundo ng CBG or Corporate Banking Group, laging kasama rin sa mga sponsored gatherings...the result, eto bloated--gained at least 2 kilos since the start of Ramadan....arrghhh!

Lately, I have been blessed for the nth times...unexpected pero ibinigay, hindi pa naman ako humihingi, I was expecting by January ang salary review, nagulat na lang ako last week nong ipatawag ako ng Chief Operating Officer (COO), recommending me to have a salary hike of 33.3% on my basic salary...it was sooooo good, and speechless ako. Sabi ni Bossing..."in recognition of your hard work blah blah blah which is 50% of your working time being spent browsing the net, 25% of your total weekly working hours you are hopping from one place to another in the city center during office hours, and the remaining 25% of your working time being spent on longer lunch breaks at the nearby KFC, Mcdonalds, Herfy, Kudu, etc..." we are giving you a salary increase of that much...har har har har har...

A day after ng ipatawag ako ni Bossing, I was advised by our GM-HR of my 33.3% hike on my monthly basic salary...hwahhhh, totoo nga, at effective September 2009 payroll--grabeh na 'toh! My last salary increase was January 2008, it was 19.5% on my basic. Pag ganon, pati housing at transpo allowances, kasama na rin. I was a little bit nervous--siyempre kaakibat niyan extra effort, ika nga tumaas expectation sayo towards work of real value. God helps, and my thanks and praises for all the blessings...

I knew it, I knew it...one of the gossip mongers inside leaked it that a young local commercial bank offered me a job at the Treasury Department, kaya ang nangyari kahit hindi pa napapanahon my dagdag sahod na ako para hindi umalis dito sa current company ko. Kaya ang nangyari yong offered na salary ng bangko, nahigitan ng mga 15% lang naman. Not bad, kaya hindi na ako aalis sa trabaho ko, hayyyy--I am hooked and trapped, hanggang pagtanda ko na yata ako sa company na 'to na kung saan nakaka eight years na ako. Okay naman kasi dito, ok na ok pala...mabait ang tatlong bossing ko, at maayos din mga kasamahan lalo na ang mga Pinoy, at ang lakas pa rin bentahan ng gasolina kaya hinding hindi magsasara ang company as long as there are cars running in the roads, at may namimina pa na langis. Sabi nga ng mga Arabs "yahla Kareem..."

--ber na as in September...and can't help myself thinking that in two months time from today am on work leave, wheh!

The boss and the puto cake

Kakaiba ang title ng post nato, anyway--walang connection yong boss sa puto, trip lang, heheheh...

The boss reported back to work after a month work leave...and every one in the office is back to normal routine as well, kunyari busy, gawking at their laptops or desktops intently, nagbabasa lang naman ng online news, har har har...

The latecomers--yong mga laging late, maagang nagsipasok, alam kasi nila na pabalik na ang big boss today, pa-impress ika nga.

The undertimers, aba'y 2:51 p.m., nasa kani-kanilang desks pa rin, dati rati mga 01:00 p.m. pa lang, nauwi na, parang isa yata ako sa grupo nato ah, argh!

Bukas, makalawa--magsasawa na naman ulit sa pagpapakitang gilas ang mga officemates, heheheh...balik sa dati ika nga.

Siyempre pag bagong dating ang big boss galing ng work leave, usually ngarag ang mga department's heads, lahat affected kahit subordinate staff, reporting ng kung ano-ano, at update kung ano ang progress ng business operation,etc. So far, mag uuwian na hindi pa rin ako tinatawag, does it mean--naintindihan niya ang report na pinadala ko through email 2 days back..? Sana naman...

Kagabi, medyo homesick ako--at ang therapy ko mag-kalat sa kusina, mag-imbento ng mga bagay-bagay na suitable for human consumption, maigi naman at napakinabangan, check it...presenting my puto cake basing my customized recipe...Masarap siguro, kasi ang pihikan sa pagkain na si Madam G., sa bahay naka-lima ata, at yong baon ko kanina na 10 pcs, nasaid ng mga pinoy opismeyt ko at isa lang ang sinabi--kakaiba "it melts in the tongue..." sabay sabing pahingi nga ng recipe.

Samu't sari

What's up, sabi nong ofcmate ko earlier...sagot ko naman, all down..?

Heheheheh...

Ganon lagi dito sa office...lahat nga down lately, nakakabato ba at hungkag--dala siguro rin pag wala kang masyadong workloads makupad ang pagtakbo ng bagay-bagay sa opis...

Isang bossing lang lagi ang on duty at di rin mapakali kung minsan kasi after doh'ur prayer, nag di-disappear. Tatlong bossing kasi yan, yong dawalang bossing ko--naka work leave, kaya walang nag uutos masyado, lahat lang basic coordinating with the usual bank jobs, yong sa loan payment schedules, on track din, email lang sa Finance Managers, ng loan repayment installments, ayos na. May monitoring sheet naman, daily nga lang ang pag-check, baka may ma-missed na installment at pumutok, ako ang mapuputokan, hirap non, baka mawalan ng trabaho ng di oras, heheheh.

Tagal ko din hindi nag post, almost a month...tamad lang ako lately, dala rin siguro ng deteriorating brain cells ko, hindi ako makapag isip masyado...midlife crisis ba tawag dito, har har har...siguro nga gawa ng am hitting mid 30's--tumatanda na talaga.

BTW, eto yong big boy ko si Yuan...he turned four last August 09, as usual wala ako during his birthday celebration--peace tayo anak, soon we will be together. Malaki na nga ang dating baby boy ko, parang kailan lang. Kaya it's about time na magkaroon ng kapatid...will let me try, and try baka maka-hit ulit ng jackpot for the second time, of course all in God's will and grace.

Ciao tutti...

Straight ahead

Ako'y nagbabalik ulit...

Am gagged and overdosed of so many issues that even I don't want to get into my nerve, labs na labs ako at ayaw tantanan.

I wish that life would always run like the picture above--laging straight, walang kaliwa or kanan...

But I can't really predict what life ahead waits...kagabi pinanood ko ang movie ni Nicolas Cage na KNOWING (it's a good movie kung mahilig kayo sa sci-fi), at one point John Koestler (Nicolas Cage in the film) believed that LIFE is a string of random happenings and mistakes...bigla ako napaisip ng mga bagay-bagay about life...pero mas naniniwala ako sa DIVINE providence why we exist, rather than on Darwin's theory on Evolution. Hay...ang tao nga naman.

Anyway, I am glad mostly of my pending subjects natapos din, complex yong ibang subjects, but with matching prayers naayos din kahit papano. Maganda rin kong bugbog sarado ka ba ng problema,nagiging immune ka at ang resulta resilient ka, as in deadma na lang, ipasa-Diyos ang lahat, ika nga.

Sabi ng isang tropa, parang napaka easy going ko daw--alangan naman na yong problema i-share ko pa sa kanila, ako kasi at a young age I've learned to ride with life fairly kahit yong pag-sakay ko ba mauga at mahilo-hilo na ako, it's just a matter of accepting that in life we can't win every thing...mahirap umasa di ba? You'll just end up frustrated. Be good anyway even hirap ka na, it's you alone to survive against all odds, pag bumitiw ka, of course end game na yan, one of the words of wisdom ni Mother Theresa, "Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough, give the world the best you have anyway." Para bang sinasabi na push and don't stop pushing, rather than stagnate...

So let's drive straight ahead...be cautious though on left or right turns, especially on u-turns, as GOD promises a safe arrival but not OUR journey...