Random Blogging.

It's 3:30 in the afternoon on a Friday and surprisingly, I'm not that swamped with work like the past few days. Today, I am totally aware of the time -- which meant that I actually ate on time. When I got back to the office, not so much happening. I've a lot of things to write, yes, but nothing to stress about. It's actually rare that I get to be so...un-busy. Hehehehe.

So ok, here I am blogging. Looking over my shoulder from time to time, cautious that someone might see me logged in my Blogger account. Haha! I look at my to-do list for the day and five out of five things I list down I'll do have been highlighted, which means I have finally done the task. Wow! Seriously, I don't get to experience this often since I started working. Oh well, might as well enjoy the "free" time.

All right. We're about to end the second month of the year, and believe it or not, things are already going so much better than what I had planned it to be. I guess the realization just hit me when I got back from my trips to wherever. Haha! Two months in, and already I've made a lot of new friends, been to nine destinations already and have gone out with friends for four times. I'm loving it!

Work, as always, has been super hectic, of course. Lots of schedules, lots of interviews, lots of things to do. They say, it's all about time management. Well, as a dear friend once said, "It's not time management. It's the art of eliminating tasks." Thanks to him, I think I've gotten the hang of eliminating tasks. Hehehehe...

Now what? Well, ok...this may seem a little over-the-top, but in 53 days, I am celebrating my 24th birthday! Crazy, right? I admit it. But hey...I'm just really excited about turning a year older. There's something about turning 24 that makes me really ecstatic to celebrate. Like last year, I will be preparing a mini buffet for my officemates. Hehe. I already have a menu in mind but let me keep it to myself. I don't want to spoil the fun for my officemates.

When I turned 23 last year, I told everyone that it's the best -- and I do mean the best -- celebration so far! And I have this feeling that this year's going to be even better than the last. This early on, my mom has been telling me of her birthday wish for me. For some, you might know what that wish is already. For those who don't, just wait till it's my birthday. Then I'll tell you all about it. Hahahaha!

Let me take this time to express my gratitude to the blessings that have happened to me for the past two months. Some of the wonderful blessings I have received are:

1. Getting the DVD special collector's edition of one of my all time favorite movies, Forrest Gump ("Life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get.") -- I swear, this has got to be the most expensive gift I've gotten from anyone outside the family
2. Celebrating Mam Delza's and Ms. Mons' birthdays at Cafe La Carmela with the LEP and InFlight family (Yeah, it was definitely a blast!)
3. Pepper Lunch date with Jan and Det (The monthly bonding moments commence...when's our next date?) -- Who's next? Jan? Where to? Hehehe...
4. Bonding sessions with Alla and Euki (Let's get together as much as possible, all right? Hehehehe... you know I miss you terribly!) -- When's our next date, girls? Haha!
5. Lakbay Norte (This is one of the biggest highlights of my first two months in 2010! The best experience, so far!) -- I've gained new friends and I can't wait to see them soon. When's our next night out?
6. Getting free Starbucks drinks for two separate weeks (Oh I just love the iced soy caramel macchiatto!) -- Just before I went to participate in the Lakbay Norte media tour and just as I am about to go to another business trip, I am getting my favorite customized drink! Oh how wonderful it is to be a regular in Starbucks!

Yes, yes, yes! I am definitely one happy person. Hahahaha! Despite not celebrating Valentine's day (because I opted to celebrate Chinese New Year with the family), everything's great!

All right, it's time to go back to work.

Ciao!

The Year that Was and the Year Ahead.

Happy New Year to one and all!

As I bid 2009 farewell and say hello to the new year, let me look back at some of the memorable experiences that happened to me for the past 12 months.

1. New Year celebration with the family -- cooked Arroz Valenciana
2. Loricer mini reunion -- a night filled with lots of laughter and reminiscing with my high school batchmates
3. Celebrating Chinese New Year with friends -- I will never forget Jan eating the taro puff!
4. Tito Bert's homecoming -- had weekly get-together with the family; celebrating his birthday and Lola Bait's birthday at Legends Restaurant
5. My 23rd birthday -- what I could only describe as the MOST AWESOME BIRTHDAY I could ever ask for! 3 separate celebrations in one week: with officemates, with family and with my barkada
6. Singing in front of a crowd -- it was one of the most unexpected things I've done ever since! Haha!
7. Kuya Rom and Mama celebrate their birthdays -- even though Kuya is in the US, we still managed to celebrate his birthday by eating at Mei Lin Chinese Restaurant. Meanwhile, Mama turned 60!
8. Mother's Day celebration at Super Bowl of China -- another memorable family gathering with the Franciscos
9. Mama and Papa's 33rd wedding anniversary -- all expenses paid date for Mama and Papa: overnight accommodations in Hotel Celeste, dinner date at David's Tea House, lunch at Amici with me and Kuya Miguel, coffee at Starbucks
10. Tita Connie, Tito Monching and Tina visit the Philippines -- bonding time with my balikbayan relatives, as well as celebrating Father's Day and my brother's birthday
11. Kuya Miguel turns 28 -- we went out to celebrate my brother's birthday and it was a real blast!
12. Bonding times with my "anak" and my "bru" -- yes! spending time with them is one that I always look forward to. Next get-together?
13. Going to Laguna, Davao and Ilocos in one month -- August was probably the most exhilarating month of the year because I got to go to lots of places. I love it, I love it, I love it!
14. Celebrating Papa's birthday -- Papa turned the big 6-0 and Mama couldn't be happier! Hehehehehe
15. Monthly get togethers with my after-work buddies -- one of the most memorable dinners we had was during Ate Det's birthday celebration! Totally hilarious!
16. Monthly family get-togethers -- the Francisco matriarch never let a moment passed by when she didn't ask me, "May boyfriend ka na ba?" Hahahahaha! I really thought she was kidding about the Christmas 2009 deadline
17. Kuya Rom's surprise homecoming -- none of us expected that my brother would be home the month of December...I swear, it's one of the best things that ever happened this year!
18. Christmas with the Franciscos -- as always, Christmas with the Francisco family is a day filled with lots of laughter, lots of food and lots of picture taking...and yes, my Lola looked for my "plus one"
19. Year-end trip to Davao -- it was a totally unexpected trip...but well worth it! Thanks to my officemate-slash-friend who invited me to go!

These are just some of the highlights of the year that passed. All the memories from these events will always be with me. And so, as the year 2010 begins, let me just share some of the things I'm looking forward to:

January: Trips to Boracay and Laguna

March or August: Trip to Davao again

April: My 24th birthday

June: My 2-year anniversary in SEAIR

December: Christmas

Once again, I greet you all...

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

"Distress over OJTs and Grad School is for Serious People"

Back when I was in my junior year of college, when I was then the associate editor of our school paper, The Scholastican, I had a column I called "Paper Trails" (which I eventually made into a now-defunct blog). And I started to miss writing an ed-op. So here I am now, posting in this blog something that was printed three years ago. I hope you will appreciate it as much as I do.

o O o

The beginning of another school year.

The halfway point of my college career.

The beginning of the end.

Ouch! It even hurts to put that last one in writing. As my junior year begins, I can't say I'm pleased with the pace at which my college experience is flying by. When did this transition from young naive freshwoman to accustomed upperclassman occur? Why wasn't I aware of it?

It seems as though once junior year starts, everyone seems to get bitten by the whole planning-for-the-future bug that I so sneakily avoided. I mean, we just got back from whatever place we had our summer, and now people are making plans for next year's on-the-job trainings and internships. Am I missing something?! Suddenly, all talk has shifted from amazing summer vacations to grad school and getting an "in" at the right company so as to ensure a lucrative future.

While I sit at the Social Hall with my MP3 player and a couple of books and handouts, I see students with highlighters and test-prep books. I wonder if its wrong to study for the subjects at hand rather than the ones I'll be taking a few years from now. Is it wrong if I worry about my schedule for this week than for the next 20 years? Sure, it's great to have an idea as to the path we all wish to take after St. Scholastica's COllege, but isn't there something to be said for taking life one day at a time and seeing where it leads us on its own?

Now everyone thinks getting an MBA is a sure-way ticket to everything noble in this world and admission to medical school is on a continuous upsurge. Many leaders in the world today are self-made and, for the most part, self-taught. Sure, they received some form of undergraduate education, but many of them worked their way up the ladder by moving from job to job and learning new life skills and lessons each step of the way.

I am sure each and every member of SSC is shaking her head in disagreement right now, for they foster this new found idea of perpetual planning and constant worry. I'm sure that this opinion makes me appear like the most unmotivated student here, yet anyone can surely attest to the contrary. I work hard in what I do now; I apply myself in everything I choose to undertake and enjoy every second that passes. I'm not going to say that, at times, I don't feel overwhelmed by the thought of entering the "real world" in a few short years and by the crazy panic that has stricken the vast majority of everyone around me -- because I do.

My point is that we need to focus on making the most of the short amount of time in college, and, while still preparing for our future, leave it at that -- the future. I guarantee you -- we will still be okay.

Sunday Night Blogging.

Hi there!

It's 9:15 in the evening on an uneventful Sunday night so I have decided to log in my blog and post something new. Hmm...what am I going to blog about tonight?

Y'know, it's funny sometimes, how you think you're doing everything you want to do and yet there's still a part you're still missing. I seriously miss singing! I realized this a couple of weeks ago when I sang in front of a huge crowd for a gig. I really do miss singing. I remember when it was nearing my birthday earlier this year, one of the 23 things I've wanted to do is to perform in front of an audience. Yeah, I've been singing my heart out. Regardless of the opportunities, I still miss it. I can't believe it -- I had no idea that singing was that huge of a part of my life. It's just surreal sometimes when I get to think about random things and it hits me as if it's something I have to do.

Don't get me wrong, I am so in love with my job! Who wouldn't be having the time of her life writing interesting stories, meeting great people, traveling to beautiful destinations? I love it and I wouldn't want to change direction in my career. There's still so much I want to learn from my work and I wouldn't let go of it until I am ready to. But singing is different. Singing, to me, is one of my creative outlets. I sing whatever I feel like singing, pouring my heart out as if I'm singing it to someone in particular. In a way, I feel like I'm a "celebrity." Egoistic as I may come off saying that, it's just true.

Hoping to sing again soon...

Yesterday was all about me.

Indeed, it was! I have finally acknowledged the realization that I've been pushing myself to the limit the past few weeks, and while it helped me that I was preoccupied with work, it was time to give myself a break and just have fun! And fun, I did get.

At 10:00 in the morning, I told my parents that I would be going out. I swear, I still get surprised by their response whenever I tell them I'm going out on weekends. When I told Mama that I'm going to hang out by myself, she told me, "Buti naman. Lagi ka na lang tutok sa trabaho mo." Thanks, Mama. I know you'd rather I go out with my friends, but I'm very happy you're glad to see me get out on my own and have some fun. Hehehe.

So after having an early lunch (11:30AM to be more precise), I washed up, took a shower, got dressed and headed to the salon. I've been planning since my birthday to get a hair treatment -- and that's exactly what I got when I went to my stylist and had an uber long hair treatment. Karina, owner of Regine's Salon, made sure that my hair would be so much more manageable than what I had. Yes, my locks are once again revitalized! 4 hours of sitting on the chair was sooooo worth it! I love my hair! I remember one of the staff saying, "Miss Marge, you're looking more and more Chinese with your hair like that." Thanks for the compliment! But Karina said the funniest thing ever: "Marge, if this doesn't get you a boyfriend, I don't know what will." Hahahaha! Thank you, Karina, for making me feel I'm the prettiest girl there is!

How do I look now? Well, see for yourself.

All right. Done with the salon. I could have just gone to Greenbelt and hung out in my usual place -- Starbucks. But I opted to get into a cab and go to Bonifacio High Street. It was already 4:30PM at that time when I got there. Didn't really do much there. Went in a couple of stores, checked out some stuff. But in the end, I went to my favorite place (Starbucks, where else?), brought out my book of the day (Leo Tolstoy's The Death of Ivan Ilyich), plugged in my earphones for some music, and ordered a dark cherry mocha frappuccino (current sticker count: 3 out of 17).

Here's the funny part. I was waiting for the barista to give me back my sticker but he ran out of it so they had to get a new roll. So while I was waiting for my promo card and my drink, the barista took the order of the guy next to me. When the barista asked if the guy wanted to avail a promo card, the guy politely declined. But what he said next was flattering. "You can just give my sticker to this lovely lady." I think I blushed at that. He was really nice. Thanks to him, I now have 4 stickers. Haha!

I stayed there until it was 7:00 in the evening, I think. I didn't even bother to buy any food. Hehe. But anyway, I finished the book so I went to take another stroll around Bonifacio High Street. I would have loved to take pictures but I didn't exactly have a camera with me and I didn't really want to use my iPhone as a camera at that time. So after strolling around for another hour, I got in a cab and went home.

I had an amazing "me-time"! Yes, I'm a very happy person (once again). Hehehe...

Funny Moment.

I just had to share this because I find it really funny.

After work, I decided to hang out in Starbucks. It has been quite a while since I last went there to just hang out. Oh yeah, for those of you who don't know yet, the promo for Starbucks Planner 2010 began today. So for those who are eager to collect those stickers, go to the nearest Starbucks and start buying those drinks! You need 17 stickers to be able to redeem the planner.

9 regular drinks + 8 specialty drinks = 1 planner

Ok. Well, that's not really what I wanted to share. Hehehe. But I had to plug it. Anyway, so there I was in Starbucks, alone (as usual), drinking my caffe mocha and eating my honey glazed doughnut when I noticed a guy -- a rather good looking Chinese guy -- was looking at me. So I looked back at him. Next thing I knew, I saw the guy trip and fell. Right there in the middle of Starbucks! Wow!

I feel like I'm such a geisha! Hahahaha!

That's all. I just felt like sharing that one.

Just One.

Written on June 29, 2009

In a day, the month of June ends. And if you haven’t noticed it yet, I had no blog entries for the month of June...until now.

Sorry -- I’ve just been too busy the whole month, I barely had time to really sleep. But today, I am making an effort to post an entry. Yes, even as I am working in the office at this very moment, I am really trying to compose an entry in between my mental blocks with writing articles for the magazine.

It is now 4:00 in the afternoon. I’ve basically finished all tasks for the day. But my mind keeps wandering back to the articles I’ve submitted to my editor. At the back of my mind, I can’t help but think if what I’ve written is good enough. Great, after a year of working in the magazine, I still have doubts on my capabilities as a writer. But I think that’s just normal. Then again, maybe I’m just being too hard on myself.

This is bad. I’m just beginning my blog entry and I’m finally sending off negative vibes to people reading my blog. Tsk tsk tsk. I should really stop doing that. So ok. Let me go to the great things that happened this month.

June 6: Mama and Papa celebrated their 33rd wedding anniversary
As a married couple, my parents have been together for 33 long years. But what’s more impressive is that they have been each other’s sweethearts for 43 years. Yes, they became a couple when they were still in second year college and have never separated since. Ah yes, now you know why I’m such a hopeless romantic. I love my parents’ love story.

For the first time, Kuya Rom, Kuya Miguel and I went all out for our parents to give them the wedding anniversary of their dreams.

We arranged everything for them. With my Kuya Rom in Los Angeles, it’s up to Kuya Miguel and me to take care of things to be done here. We reserved a hotel room for Mama and Papa at Hotel Celeste in Makati. We gave them pocket money to spend on their date. Kuya Miguel and I met up with Mama and Papa the next day where we ate lunch at Amici and then went to Starbucks for another hour of bonding session.

June 14-21: Tita Connie, Tito Monching and Tina visit
Every time we have a balikbayan, the Franciscos can’t help but go out and eat. It was like a fiesta in my Lola’s house when we ate there for lunch. My Lola can still cook, I tell you! She can still whip up delicious food in the kitchen. At 90, she’ll stop at nothing to prepare a full meal for her balikbayan daughter, son-in-law and granddaughter.

That night, we all went to Julie’s Ihaw-Ihaw at By the Bay. Mmmmm…seafood galore! Oh yes, I’ve definitely gained back the weight I lost when I was confined in the hospital the month before.

The next weekend, Fathers’ Day, we all went out and ate at Luk Foo in Sucat. Definitely ate a lot! Good thing I wasn’t wearing a belt. Hahaha!

Tuesday came...the day before my brother’s birthday. Once again, the Francisco family had a dinner gathering at Dad’s in Glorietta 3. Who wouldn’t be full? It’s eat-all-you-can! Haha!

o O o

Written on June 30, 2009

June 24: Kuya Miguel's birthday
It’s another family day for us as we celebrated Kuya Miguel’s 28th birthday. Just a little birthday celebration for our birthday boy. We ate dinner, courtesy of Kuya Miguel, of course. As usual, we talked about random things. We even talked about who among us siblings would get married first, who would give our parents their first grandchild. Nice!

I bought my brother his favorite cake, Brazo de Mercedes, and gave him t-shirts he liked as my birthday gift. Yes, simple shirts make my brother happy. Of course, his original birthday wish that he wanted me to give him were Playstation 3 and a 32-inch LCD. Ouch! As if I could actually afford that. Oh well, Kuya’s happy with my gift. That’s what matters.

June 27: Alla's post-birthday celebration
Alla celebrated her birthday last June 22. As a celebration with her barkada, Alla met up with me, Euki and Janchang at Powerplant Mall in Rockwell, Makati where we ate dinner at California Pizza Kitchen. Yummy! From starters to the main course, all I can say is, “Sarap!”

After eating dinner at CPK, we decided to stroll around until we ended up eating desserts at Crepes & Cream. Oh yes! My craving for crepes have been satisfied, all thanks to the birthday girl. I distinctly remember that the last time we went out was a post-celebration of my birthday. That was two months ago. I swear, I am not used to going out wearing pants anymore if my company is my barkada. Hahaha! More often than not, I am wearing shorts or miniskirts than pants or pedal pushers. But I love it! I really do.

Yey to Alla for turning another year older!

Yey to great food!

June 28: Till next time
It was the last day of vacation for Tita Connie, Tito Monching and Tina. Once again, it was foodie galore at the House of Lola. From breakfast until dinner, we ate and took pictures and ate and talked about anything and everything.

Unfortunately, that “anything” got me worried. It was absolutely no holds barred for my relatives to ask me. And ask, they did. It’s not as if I didn’t know what they were going to ask me. It’s just that...more often than not, I find myself being unprepared for the predictable question. That time was no excuse. I was still caught off guard when I was asked, “May boyfriend ka na ba?”

Hooboy! And I don’t know if you noticed but that particular Sunday was absolutely dehydrating! It was such a hot day, I went to Lola’s house wearing shorts. Note: I never wear shorts when going to my grandmother’s house. But I had to make an exception. It really was a very hot day. I wasn’t alone -- my cousin, Ate Kriselle, came to the house wearing shorts.

Their flight was scheduled at 10:00 in the evening. Since my relatives checked in early, they didn’t have to go to the airport three hours before their scheduled flight. *Sigh* It’s really heartbreaking to see them leave. It will be a couple of years before I get to see them again.

o O o

11 o’clock in the evening. Well, I guess I should be wrapping things up now.

All in all, those were the highlights of the month. Though I didn’t include the memorable events at work, let me just say that work has been very tough, but still very much enjoyable!

Oh yeah…

Happy anniversary to me!

I’ve been working as editorial assistant at SEAIR InFlight magazine for one year already!

That’s it!

Till next month. I swear, I will be updating my blog as frequently as possible.

Happy Mother's Day!

Birthday Aftermath.

Let me just start this blog entry by thanking everyone for making this year the BEST birthday I have ever celebrated. It was certainly a day to remember. For those of you who don't know, let me just give you a rundown of what transpired during my 23rd birthday...

I prepared a mini-handaan for my officemates from the LEP and InFlight departments. Pancit bihon, fried chicken, mechado and blueberry cheesecake. I made sure that everything was good for 25 people (although we're less than 20 in the department). I was very happy to hear that everyone enjoyed the food and even had enough to let other people get a taste. I distinctly remember people from other departments giving me a praises for the great food. Apparently, because of this I was told by everyone that I'm so ready to be married. Hahaha! As if I've never heard that before. Cooking is, and will always be, a passion of mine. Fret not, this is not the end of home-cooked meals from yours truly.

Although my birthday was a very busy day for me as I had to pull out clothes from Nullah and make sure everything's been handed over to Sir Jocas for their Batanes flight the day after, April 13 was a very eventful day. To my officemates, I love you all to pieces but let me just say, you certainly are a crazy bunch of people! How do I put this in a way where people can clearly visualize? Haha! What you made us do (and by "us," I mean me and Van) is by far the most insane thing ever! The commotion you've caused by your paparazzi moments! Hahahaha! You just wouldn't let up...not give up at all! Hehehe...

Hahaha! I admire your tenacity, LEP people! No, I'm not mad. For sure, it was one of the "highlights" of my birthday celebration. But you've managed to make me blush until the time I went to meet my family to celebrate my birthday with them. Kudos to Van for being a sport at a time when they were ganging up on us.

Here's the real deal...it really was the best birthday ever! Everything was beyond my expectations. Not in a million years did I imagine to have a birthday celebration like this.

So to everyone, thank you all so much for giving me a birthday that's so much more than what I bargained for. I only asked that my special day will be filled with lots of laughter and lots of love. What happened was so much more than I could have ever expected.

Thank you!

Maggie Celebrates Her 23rd Birthday.

Before the clock strikes midnight, I wish to say to those who...
...have greeted me...
...have shared this day with me...
...have given me several reasons why to love this special day...

Thank you so much for making my 23rd birthday one of, if not the most, memorable days of my life.

Smiling Like Crazy.

It's one of those days that I can just say, "I'm so happy, I couldn't stop smiling." Even as I was walking on my way home today, I can't help but smile at the thought that was running through my head.

For those who don't know, it's because of one guy. Yes, the reason for my spontaneous smiles and my everyday giddiness is him. For those who know who "him" is, well, ok, I'll say it. His name is Van.

I've said it before. I feel happy, lighthearted when he's around. Never a day went by when I didn't smile when I saw him at work. He's too darn contagious. When he's around, I could just feel his energy. He's infectious, that's what he is. I can't help laugh at his quirks.

Today, I was so surprised when out of nowhere he gave me ice cream -- Double Dutch. A personal favorite, I might add.

I know I shouldn't too excited over this but the fact that it's happening to me now...every day...I just feel like I'm in a place where I can stay there until the feeling subsides...and the funny thing is that I feel the feeling will never subside. Because he's always around.

I told myself I wouldn't be like this. Be too eager with these feelings. But when I think about it, I keep telling myself, I deserve to feel this happiness. I remember my prayer to God. I asked Him to let me meet someone who can surprise me at work from time to time. And He let me meet someone who surprises me everyday at work. Whether it be he comes in the office and says, "Hey Marge" in his Homer Simpson impersonation...whether it be he says "Kain" as his greeting to me...whether he comes in the office from out of nowhere and makes me jump out of my seat...whether he takes my food and finishes it off and then comes back and gives me food to replace the ones he ate. The point is, he manages to surprise me.

Thank you, God! You really have the best sense of humor.

I'm sorry. I know I've never sounded like this in my blog entries. But this heartwarming feeling inside of me is too much to contain, I just had to let it out and share it with you.

Bottom line: I'm just happy to know someone like Van.