And the winner is...

On May 27, 2009
...Karen Jo Medina of Indang, Cavite. I already shipped her shirt last Tuesday, and I also asked if she can take a picture of herself with the shirt and send it over via email.

To those who are wondering what this is for, Karen won the t-shirt giveaway promo for Dove's "You're Beautiful, Pass It On" campaign for real beauty.

As a student and the eldest among four siblings, she had to work to make ends meet. Her father died when she was only a freshman in high school and her mom's job as a bus conductor just isn't sufficient to send all of her siblings to school. The sleepless nights and stress took toll on her physique, making her feel uncomfortable about how she looks. She became too skinny, and that her eyebags made her look older than her age.

She even missed junior prom due to lack of self-confidence, and that she thought that proms are only for "pretty girls". She started to get back on track and gain confidence when she graduated high school with flying colors and earned college scholarship.

Thank you so much Karen for inspiring us about the importance of hard work and education, and that all sacrifices will pay off eventually. That's one thing beauty magazines don't feature very often now do they? We were raised in this society where mass media dictates and judges what is "beautiful". That is embedded unconsciously in our minds as early as our youth.

As for staceyavenue.com, your perseverance is a genuine mark of real beauty. Karen, you're beautiful in every way!

I wish everyone a pleasant day. Thanks be to God!

That Grey Sky Morning

On May 21, 2009

The day started unlike any other. There was this cold December wind touching my face in a month of May. It started gently until I felt its haste as I drew myself near to my favorite skyscraper, the place where I come to work everyday for four years. Until now I'm still unsure if it was just me.

It was only yesterday, my last day at work. At least with the company that I learned to love so much. I loved my responsibilities, my colleagues, my clients, and almost everything about it. I cared a lot about it.

I'm grateful to God that the whole journey was full of wonderful learning experiences. Grateful for the fact that I met many friends along the way. They're all amazing people. And by amazing I mean they are awesome.

During the past months, I knew I badly needed a break. I guess the long overdue vacation starts now but I can't say that this will be a luxurious "me-time". My life has always been in service to the people I treasure so even if it's my vacation, it won't be a selfish one. And believe it or not, I will have no regrets.

For my "me-time", I shall take this opportunity to get my focus back and relive the memories of things that used to matter to me - like leisurely walking in the rain, or simply stopping by to smell flowers, or watch a beautiful sunset. Those are simple happiness that I forgot for a long while. Come Sunday, I'll sink my feet in the sand because my friends and I are going to the beach! I guess that's a refreshing way to start.

I will miss everything and I am looking forward to the day that we'll all see each other down the road again. I don't like saying goodbye. We have phones and the internet to catch up anyway! Until next time, and may the good Lord bless us all.

The Case of Mr. V

on May 15, 2009

How's everyone? I hope well. As for me, there is no way on earth I could escape the stress and hassle. But still, I thank God for my job and for the fact that I'm not idle nor useless. Let me share with you the highlight of the week.

I had this client I worked with and sold to a couple thousand dollars worth of merchandise last March 2009. Let's name him "Mr.V". To make the long story short, he left the sum of his orders unpaid. The guy from Billing Dep't. called me up yesterday to let me know that the client is avoiding calls and is not responding to emails, and provided fraudulent information along the way.

The investigation yield these records:
"Mr.V" has a criminal history part of public record of Posssesion of Drugs 2002, Theft 2005, Unath Use of Property 2005, Drugs 2002, 1rst degree misdemeanor 2004, Theft 2004, Plead Guilty of 4th and 5th Degree Felony Forgery and Theft 01/2004, Forgery 2004, and Theft 3 counts 2000.

I'm still thinking if I should publish Mr.V's name here. I wanted to make sure I won't just write him off but make him sorry.

So there you go, that's why I haven't got much time to blog or visit my friends' pages recently. I don't even have time to catch up with the Playoffs or see a good movie. I'm heaping loaded with work. But I know everything will be OK soon.

Have a good day everyone.

Update on Dove's You're Beautiful Promo

On May 13, 2009

I haven't announced who the winner is for the Dove t-shirt promo because I haven't finished judging the entries yet. I know it's taking a while because afterall, my heart goes to everyone who sent in their stories! It didn't occur to me right away how tough it is to be a judge because no pain is the same for each person feeling it.

Please accept my sincerest apologies. I'll try my best post the winner's entry here and ship out the shirt to our lucky winner before the end of the month.

How My Day Went

On May 8, 2009

Today I'll tell you how my day went.
It started when my mom woke me up from a good night's sleep
said my morning prayers...
Did a little workout to stay fit yeah shake it some more...
yeah that's right!
I prepared myself for a nice shower with my rubber duckie, of course.
Then scrub, scrub, scrub to freshen my pores.
Breakfast was yummy, and my tummy was so happy!
Off to work I go.

Everything was fine...
until I remembered I missed a meeting with my boss
So I came up with a plan to apologize...
that is non other than to use my charm.
He said "OK, no problem" so I'm happy again
Only to find out I had a lot more things to do!!!

So I came up with an idea...

That is to get help from my officemates

I did a great job in cheering them up!

That was very tiring.

That's about it. Have a nice day everyone!

Oh, is that me? Oh yes it is!

On May 7, 2009
Last week, my friend Greg (OIC-Administrative Head of Animal Kingdom Foundation) asked if they can have of photo of me so I sent one that also features my dog Wade. And then yesterday, I had this wacky moment when I saw my picture in the AKF site. My officemate saw my monitor, pointed it out and said "That girl looks like you." LOL.

My write-ups about animal welfare advocacy are posted in their blog page. In this photo, I'm wearing a pink AKF shirt that I got from them, worn with a black collared polo underneath because my sister said it looks cute and I like the word cute. I completed the look with plaid skirt and flats. I wore the ensemble once in the office and the security guard in the lobby asked for my school I.D. Not funny.

I encourage everyone to please support AKF's mission. It's not as shallow as other people may think. It's also about educating the masses to be responsible. Learn how you can help HERE.

What Makes a Filipino?

On May 6, 2009

(Written for "On The Ball", Branders.com's Official Newsletter)

Three generations often come together in my grandparents' house during family reunions each year. During such an occasion, along comes a heap of guests who are friends of relatives. When my siblings and I were still kids, my mom used to remind us to not treat ourselves as guests, and that we should help our aunts wash the dishes or serve food to family and friends. After serving food and drinks, it's as if automatic for us to offer our guests some more, and never leave them wanting anything else.

As we enter the house, we seek our elderly members first and foremost to pay respect. "Pagmamano" or taking an elder's right hand and bringing it to your forehead is the first gesture to show this. Then we have "po" and "opo". The elder members of the family are naturally curious so whenever they ask questions, one must answer politely and prepare for unsolicited advice from them. Never take this against your elders because their intentions are always tainted with sympathy and concern.

Each and everyone are all smiles, greeting each other "Kamusta ka na?" ("How are you?") however, you will notice that the females will not make any more physical contact with male guests other than a tap in the shoulder or a brief handshake. And with the male counterparts? Not even his closest buddy can touch his girlfriend or wife may it be just a "brotherly kiss" or "brotherly hug". In most cases, a modest smile is always enough.

These are just some memories that comes into mind when I gaze at old family photos. I recall a home that respect and goodwill built. But, what really makes a Filipino?

In Manila call centers, employees weren't born nocturnals now are they? That proves that we adapt to major changes and endure some more. They adapt to night shifts and we even have employees of 10 or more years sleeping during daytime to work at night. We are resilient. Watch TV news' footages of a hurricane aftermath and see the locals smiling and waving before the camera!

In the 90's I've witnessed poor Filipino families who would not panic during hurricanes in the flood prone town of Obando Bulacan. The place was known for waist-deep floods because of the surrounding bodies of water. People would even use the flood to their advantage by going to the rooftops with a rod and string to catch tilapia and milkfish! It's the survival instinct that drives them. They are aware that the nearby fish farms will overflow so they won't have to worry about what's for dinner. We Filipinos can turn something bad into something good.

Now that we are facing a global economic crisis, I strongly believe that we Filipinos will use what we're made of on our way to recovery...
By winning repeat businesses through hospitality and utmost care for our clients.
By treating each and every order with respect.
By being inspired by our families to work hard.
...and by using our innovativeness, adaptability, creativity, and skills to our advantage.

Haven't been here in a while.

On May 5, 2009

For the longest time (I think), I haven't been here in a while. Everything has piled up in the office since the second half of April and I am forced to update a humongous lead database which means painstakingly validating each one of them. I got about 1,200 to finish and I'm not yet done with atleast a quarter of it. Deadline is June 1, 2009. Good luck to me.

Updates: Nope, I'm not going to blog about the Pacquiao-Hatton fight for I've already read enough articles that one can take in a lifetime. Not about the Swine flu virus either since everyone else has written about it already.

My next article will be something special. Stay tuned. (^_^)

5th Philippine Blogging Summit

On May 1, 2009
I was invited by my friend Ethan to attend this. May 9 is a Saturday and I'm hesitant to come due to obligations that I prefer to prioritize. So if you're a Pinoy blogger reading this and you're interested about this event, go for it! Register at http://iblogph.org/.

Have a nice day everyone!